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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28771485">Redeemed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PtitPooh5/pseuds/PtitPooh5'>PtitPooh5</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Evolution [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Lucifer (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Deckerstar - Freeform, Disability, Dissociation, F/M, God do his best, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Maze is dead and in Heaven, Michael is NOT a dick, Michael/Ella (background), Panic Attacks, Post-Season/Series 04, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Michael, Whump, everyone knows, non Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 06:08:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>75,818</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28771485</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PtitPooh5/pseuds/PtitPooh5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucifer and Chloe had finally settled in a happy couple life after the horrors Lucifer had been through. Everything is perfect – or almost – until a case involving tortured children brings them back in memories.</p><p>This case will bring them on a journey neither of them would have fathom. A journey of fear, despair, hope and love that will reveal the real Lightbringer.</p><p>Sequel of Broken but readable as a standalone. Please read the tags for more details.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Evolution [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098404</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>290</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>172</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Are You An Angel?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story is the sequel of ‘Broken’, but can be read as a standalone (you might be confused on some details though). It takes place a few weeks after the end of Broken. If you haven’t read the former, you need to know that Lucifer had been badly tortured in Hell for two hundreds years and still has some physical and psychological aftermath from it. The tags might help you to understand a few things too.</p><p>A huge thanks to my beta readers: Feartheviolas, Humbiecat and Fox_2005. They did an incredible job on this story! It’s not only my story but theirs!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Waking up was his favorite part of the day. Watching Chloe still asleep beside him was a delight every single morning. Being with her was the most amazing thing in the world. A dream come true. But, it was in those first moments, right when he opened his eyes and realized that he was not lost in the meanderings of a wonderful dream. That moment when he knew that this was, in fact, real. That was the true gift. </p><p>Chloe was so beautiful. So smart. She was his everything. She meant the world to him. </p><p>And she was his savior. Literally.</p><p>If she hadn’t insisted that Amenadiel go to Hell to check on him, he would certainly still be there, being tortured. Maybe even dead, stuck in an endless Hell loop. He closed his eyes, trying to chase the thought away. Doctor Linda had told him that he must focus on the future. That there was no point in dwelling on the past. His life was perfect right now, why not just enjoy it?</p><p>Lucifer gently stroked Chloe’s golden hair. He wished they could stay in bed longer but they had to go to the precinct. Chloe stirred and opened her eyes, pulling him out of his contemplation.</p><p>“Good morning Detective.”</p><p>For Chloe too, life was perfect. Having her Devil beside her everyday was the best gift she could have dreamt of. They had been through so much. Both individually and together. Now, it was time to just enjoy what they’d finally gotten. </p><p>Chloe’s phone ringtone startled them. </p><p>Chloe sighed. The phone. Ugh. Why did it always have to ring at the worst possible moment? The outside world couldn’t just leave them alone in their warm bubble for once? She picked up, nevertheless. There’d been a murder and they were being asked to come in earlier. It was going to be a long day.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The crime scene was in a cozy neighborhood under development, half of the houses still under construction and uninhabited. The street wasn’t even paved yet. A heavy shower that night had left everything soaked and large puddles of water filled with mud were scattered everywhere.</p><p>Lucifer and Chloe moved toward Ella, Akuma following on a leash beside Lucifer. The latter cautiously avoided walking in the dirty water to spare his Louboutins, but Akuma didn’t care, his paws already dirty. </p><p>Ella was in the middle of the street, taking pictures of the crime scene. Michael was nowhere in sight. It was surprising to see Ella without Michael. Ever since they officially became a couple, they had been stuck together like glue. </p><p>“Hi Ella, what do we have?” Chloe asked when she was close enough.</p><p>“This is awful Chloe. One of the worst cases I’ve seen. I mean, he wasn’t even a man yet!” she said, gesturing to the corpse. “Poor boy!”</p><p>Chloe moved closer and gasped in surprise. The sight brought her back to more than a year ago, in Linda’s house. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. </p><p>The body was face down on the dirt, wearing only a slip. It was the frame of a teenager but clearly malnourished. Multiple bruises, burns, and cuts were visible all over his back and limbs, even if almost all of the blood had been washed by the rain. </p><p>And that was not even the worst of it. </p><p>His feet were missing.</p><p>Cut just above the ankles, the wounds were not healed yet, only poorly cauterized. The rain washed all blood but even without Ella’s expertise, Chloe didn’t think the feet had been amputated more than one or two days ago. The wounds had obviously been bandaged but most of it was gone, probably scrapped by crawling on his knees.</p><p>She turned around, trying to prevent Lucifer from seeing, but almost bumped into him, frozen right behind her. He was staring at the corpse but his gaze was blank, his mind far away from the city of angels. </p><p>Akuma barked.</p><p>“Lucifer, are you alright?” Chloe tried, but she already knew he was not. Of course the sight of the mutilated body would send him spiraling down. </p><p>“Buddy, I’m sorry! I should have warned you!” Ella added. When she touched his forearm in an attempt to comfort him, he recoiled from her touch.</p><p>“P–please… D-don’t hurt me!” he said in a terrorized voice. </p><p>Chloe’s heart clenched at his words. Lucifer was clearly not aware of where he was or whom he was with. It had been a while since he’d had a dissociative episode, several months, at least. Ella continued apologizing for not having warned him and for touching him, but only Chloe could hear her.</p><p>Lucifer took a step back, but he stepped in a hole and lost his balance, falling back in the muddy street. He should have shouted ‘Bloody Hell!’ so loud that all the officers there would have heard him. He should have complained about the fact that his suit was going to be ruined. He should have reacted in some way, but all he did was stare blankly at the space in front of him. </p><p>Akuma put his dirty paws on Lucifer’s chest, pressing his snout into his neck. If the Australian Shepherd couldn’t prevent the crisis, he would at least bring his master back to the present. That was the main reason why he was following Lucifer after all, in his ‘P.T.S.D. Service Dog’ vest.</p><p>The kaleidoscope of images that had struck him slowly receded, and Lucifer finally blinked, looking around. Chloe and Ella were staring at him.</p><p>“I– I’m sorry,” he said sheepishly, looking down. “I thought I was done with those.”</p><p>“You know you don’t have to apologize for that,” Chloe said. “This case hit way too close to home. If you prefer to return to the penthouse I understand.”</p><p>“No. I– I should be fine from now on.” Despite the light tone he was trying to use, his voice still sounds shaken. “I need to help find the bastard who did this!” he added with barely contained rage.</p><p>Lucifer looked at his ruined suit and shirt. Akuma had left his paw prints everywhere and he could feel that the back of his pants were damp-soaked with mud. He sighed and tried to get up. Chloe and Ella helped him.</p><p>“I will definitely need a change of clothes though.”</p><p>He looked around but there were too many officers to unfurl his wings to return to the penthouse now.</p><p>“Where’s Mi?” he asked Ella.</p><p>“He went to get us coffees.”</p><p>Lucifer smiled. Michael had been following Ella almost everywhere and was taking great pleasure in all this forensic stuff.</p><p>“Do you know the cause of death?” Chloe asked, bringing their attention back to the case.</p><p>“I will have to wait for the results of the autopsy, but I think he bled to death. All the blood was washed away in the rain, but many of the cuts are really profound and then, there are  his feet…” She trailed off, looking at Lucifer.</p><p>“It’s fine Miss Lopez. I think I just didn’t expect to see that. All the cuts and everything… It was an easy trigger.”</p><p>Chloe gently rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. He gave her a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He seemed upset but managed to keep control. Chloe took another look at their surroundings.</p><p>“Have you found any evidence?”</p><p>“Not really. I’m not sure if he came here by himself or was dumped in the area and died here. His knees are scraped, as if he’d crawled on them for a while, but the nearest house is not really close and I don’t see how he could have gotten this far.” </p><p>“Any witnesses?”</p><p>“Yes. The young woman who found the body while jogging. She’s with the unis over there.” She pointed. “She seemed pretty shocked,” she added.</p><p>Chloe nodded. They were all in shock.</p><p>The interrogation didn’t bring them any new information. The only useful information from the witness was that the neighbourhood was less than a year old and mostly inhabited and that’s why she always jogged here. She was sure to be alone doing it.</p><p>As they were returning to Ella, Akuma kept pulling on his leash, trying to bring Lucifer down the street instead.</p><p>“What?” Lucifer asked, startled on the unexpected behavior. “What are you trying to tell me, buddy?”</p><p>The dog barked once and started pulling again on his leash. He was sniffing the dirty street, looking back at them and sniffing the street again.</p><p>“Maybe we should follow him,” Chloe suggested. “He’s never done that before.”</p><p>“I agree. Maybe he smelled something.”</p><p>They followed Akuma, for about 300 yards before he turned into an alleyway between two houses.</p><p>“That’s strange,” Chloe said. “If Akuma is following the trail the boy left seeking for help, he’s going in the wrong direction.”</p><p>“If the boy didn’t know the neighborhood, it would have been easy to be confused from here,” Lucifer answered, looking around. “Besides, with the steep slope in the other direction, it was definitely easier for him to go this way. I just can’t believe he crawled that long on his knees,” he sighed.</p><p>At the same moment, they saw Dan’s car arriving and Chloe waved at him to stop.</p><p>“What’s up, Chlo?” Dan asked out the open window. “What are you doing here? The address they gave me is further down the street.”</p><p>“I know, but Akuma seems to be on to something. Would you like to come with us to check on it?”</p><p>Confirming, Dan parked on the side of the street and followed them towards the house, Akuma still in lead.</p><p>Chloe knocked loudly on the door and waited. No sound came from inside. She tried again, ringing the doorbell.</p><p>“There’s no one in here,” she sighed. “Maybe we should station a uni nearby to see if someone will come later. This house is clearly inhabited. The lawn is too well maintained for it to be unoccupied.”</p><p>They were about to turn around when Akuma barked. The dog was scratching his paw on the threshold, like if he wanted to go inside.</p><p>“We can’t enter houses like that,” Chloe said to the dog as though he could understand her. “I’m sorry Akuma but we can’t just… She stopped mid-sentence, her attention drawn to a spot on the threshold, just in front of Akuma’s front paws.</p><p>Blood.</p><p>The heavy rain had washed away most of the evidence, but it couldn’t completely wash away all the blood on the entrance. A smear of blood – no, two smears looking closely – were on the threshold, just next to the closed door. Each smear was two or three inches wide but less than half an inch in depth, the rest of the threshold having been washed by rain.</p><p>“I will ask for a warrant,” Dan said.</p><p>“No time for a warrant,” Lucifer said. “I trust Akuma’s instinct, and he wouldn’t insist that we go in there if it wasn’t important.” </p><p>He looked up at Chloe and Dan before opening the front door. It wasn’t even locked.</p><p>Akuma rushed inside.</p><p>Chloe called out once again, but no one answered. The interior was dark, curtains blocked the morning sun from the windows. Dan switched on a  flashlight and an awful scene greeted them.</p><p>A long trail of blood led from the entrance to a trapdoor in the floor. Akuma was already there, barking at the trapdoor. Lucifer hurried over to open it.</p><p>“Lucifer! Wait!” Chloe said hurriedly.</p><p>But it was already too late.</p><p>The second Lucifer lifted the trapdoor, a stench suddenly filled the air. Lucifer’s breath hitched and he took a step back, wobbling. The blood trail continued inside, down a dark set of stairs.</p><p>“I will call for backup,” Dan said.</p><p>But Akuma didn’t wait for backup. As soon as the trap had been opened, he rushed downstairs and disappeared in the darkness. He came back a few seconds later, barking toward the trio.</p><p>“What do we do?” Chloe asked. “I don’t like much the idea of getting downstairs without backup but Akuma seems in a rush that we follow him.”</p><p>“G– give me a few minutes,” Lucifer whispered. “I will go.”</p><p>“No!” Chloe interjected. “We don’t know what’s downstairs and I don’t want you to risk another dissociative episode.”</p><p>“Just say I’m useless,” Lucifer whined.</p><p>“It’s not that Lucifer and you know it.”</p><p>“I will go.” Dan said.</p><p>While Dan followed Akuma down the steps, Chloe went toward Lucifer who was still trying to control his breathing.</p><p>“Holy shit!” they heard Dan swear from downstairs.</p><p>“What?!” Chloe almost screamed.</p><p>“It’s better if Lucifer stays upstairs,” Dan called up. “There’s another body here.”</p><p>The ’body’ moaned faintly and turned its head toward Dan. Two frightened eyes were blinking in the beam of Dan’s flashlight.</p><p>“Chlo! Call an ambulance! She is still alive!”</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>They visited the surrounding houses to try to question the neighbours, in hopes that someone had witnessed something, but only three houses were occupied and no one knew who lived in the house where they had found the girl.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure you want to work on this case? It must be incredibly hard for you.” Chloe said softly.</p><p>Lucifer was visibly shaken, staying silent on their way back to the penthouse. Chloe watched him out of the corner of her eye as she drove and she could tell he longed to take a shower and change his dirty clothes, even though she had removed most of the dried mud. </p><p>“I’m fine Detective. I know I reacted badly at first, but I wasn’t prepared for that. It… it’s just…” he shook his head. “I can understand that demons tortured me. It’s their job to torture, but humans? How can they do things like that to their offspring?! They don’t have to do that! They are committing murder and torture since the dawn of humanity but I still don’t understand their purpose on doing that. Why?!”</p><p>“I don’t know,” she sighed, “but we will find who did this to them and get them justice. I really hope the little girl will be fine. She seemed to be even younger than Trixie! I’m so glad we followed Akuma. If we hadn’t, she might have died alone or been tortured again.”</p><p>“This dog shouldn’t have been named after the Devil, but an angel instead,” Lucifer said.</p><p>“Well, I know a certain Devil who acts more like an angel too.”</p><p>Lucifer gave her a sad smile.</p><p>“Well, if we find the bastard who did this, let me tell you, I will be more like a devil than an angel!”</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>They had searched the police database to try to identify the victims without a match. That their fingerprints were not in the database was not a surprise, but they thought that they would at least get a match in missing persons cases. Unfortunately, it was most likely a case of children mistreated by their own parents, so they were never ‘missing’. There was enough resemblance between the two victims to assume they were siblings, but they were still waiting on the autopsy results for confirmation. Dan had found the name of the owner of the house, Jason Hernandez. It appeared that he owned several houses in the area and they decided to pay him a visit.</p><p>“Promise me you will stay calm,” Chloe asked Lucifer on their way there. “We don’t know yet if he is responsible for this.”</p><p>“Don’t worry Detective. I will behave.”</p><p>“That’s not what I meant, Lucifer.”</p><p>“You know I can’t promise you that. I’m not even calm now, but I won’t screw up our investigation if it’s what you’re afraid of.”</p><p>“I know you wouldn’t do it on purpose. Please, let me do the talk.”</p><p>“As you wish, Detective.”</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Jason Hernandez was a slim man with broad shoulders, his shape further accented by how tight his shirt was across his shoulders and arms. His lower body seemed even thinner than Lucifer’s, as though the man had only  trained his upper body. He kept his sleek, thinning hair in a short ponytail at the base of his neck. Lucifer huffed in disdain. </p><p>Hernandez was upset when Chloe told him about the discovery made on his property, but not for the reasons they had expected. </p><p>“I build houses and rent them out until the property value goes up, then I sell them. That way I maximize profits for each house. Now, no one will want to buy this house. I will be lucky if I find a renter for it,” he sighed.</p><p>“We will need the name of the renters for that house and any other details you can give us,” Chloe said.</p><p>“I don’t rent the houses out myself, so I don’t know who rents them. It’s a company who takes care of that for me, but I will give you what I have.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hernandez doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the murder,” Chloe said on their way to the rental office. “We still have to check his alibi, but he has no clear motivation. I have a feeling he’s not our guy.”</p><p>“I think you’re onto something, Detective. He was clearly more upset by the money he’s going to lose from the house’s tarnished reputation, than the murder itself,” Lucifer huffed. “Why are humans more concerned about money than lives?”</p><p>“Not all humans are like that Lucifer, but you’re right. Money shouldn’t be his priority in this case.”</p><p>“Money should never be the priority,” Lucifer said blatantly.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The rental company refused to give them the information about the renters without a warrant. The privacy of their customers was apparently more important than the murder of a teenager. Lucifer had barely contained his frustration in front of the stubborn old man, and drawing out his deepest desire had only revealed that he desperately wanted to retire.</p><p>It shouldn’t have been a problem to identify a suspect with all the evidence they had collected in the house, but aside from the owner of the house, they hadn’t made much progress. With every hour that passed without identifying a suspect, the possibility of the murderer getting away was growing. </p><p>A police officer had been stationed at the house, in the event that the perpetrator returned, but not a single car came down the street. It seemed as though the children had been abandoned to their fate. </p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Lucifer, Chloe, Dan, Ella and Michael were all in Ella’s lab, piecing together the little evidence they had. Chloe was eager to talk to the girl, but the hospital denied, since  she was in surgery to fix broken bones that had healed poorly in her legs.</p><p>Cases involving children were always hard, but this one hit close to home for all of them. The malnutrition and torture of the two victims, and the boy’s amputations were too much to bear. Each new detail was worse than the previous one. The preliminary autopsy results determined that the cause of death was blood loss, just as Ella had suspected. The poor teen had probably escaped trying to find help and bled to death in the street. </p><p>Ire and sorrow seemed to radiate off Lucifer in waves. How he had been able to stay composed and not burst into rage despite everything, his friends just couldn’t understand. After his dissociative episode, he seemed to have managed to keep triggering memories at bay, and he focused on the case almost like any other.</p><p>It wasn’t until the evening that the hospital called to say they could meet the victim. They warned Chloe she didn’t seem to speak English, and she would only be allowed a few minutes with her. Chloe had planned to meet her alone at first, but when they learned that they would probably need a translator, Lucifer said he would go.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The officer posted outside the room let them in and a nurse waiting besides him told them "You have five minutes” looking protective at the three of them.</p><p>The girl was lying in the middle of the bed, seemingly half asleep. Both her legs were in casts up to the knees, and part of her arms were covered in bandages. An infusion line was fixed to her tiny left hand, disappearing beneath bandages and tape. The doctor probably wanted to avoid her pulling it out to have it fixed this way.</p><p>The hospital staff had said she was probably around ten years old but she looked so much younger than Trixie who turned eleven just a few months ago. Her skin was a beautiful coppery color and her dark brown, almost black hair was spread in a messy sprawl on the pillow.</p><p>When she noticed Chloe and Lucifer coming toward her, she opened her eyes wide, obviously terrified. <em>She looks so much like Lucifer when he had just been rescued from Hell,</em> Chloe thought. Lucifer stayed a little behind her, not wanting to frighten the child more with his height. Akuma pulled on his leash though, and would have probably gone to the bed if Lucifer had let him.</p><p>“Hi, my name is Chloe and this is my partner, Lucifer, with his assisting dog Akuma ” Chloe said as kindly as she could pointing to herself and her partner when saying their names. She knew the girl might not understand her, but since they didn’t know which language she spoke, an attempt in English was as good as any other. She was just hoping that the girl would say something that Lucifer could identify. </p><p>The soft tone seemed to work as the girl said something in a language Chloe didn’t recognize. Before she had time to turn toward her partner, Lucifer had already started to talk to the girl. After a few sentences of exchange, Lucifer turned the chair beside the bed and sat down to face her, Akuma sitting beside him. </p><p>The dog was looking at the little girl as if he understood what she was going through and wanted to soothe her but Lucifer didn’t let him get closer. He didn’t know how her people perceived dogs and didn’t want her to be frightened more than she already was. </p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Lucifer was surprised to hear Satawalese in Los Angeles. About 500 people spoke this language and they were all in Micronesia to his knowledge.</p><p>“Where’s my brother?” the girl had asked when Chloe had spoken to her.</p><p>“Is it okay if my partner records our conversation?” Lucifer asked her instead of answering. “We need to do this for procedure.”</p><p>“I– I guess so. Where’s my brother?” she repeated.</p><p>Lucifer turned briefly to Chloe to tell her it was okay to start recording and returned his attention to the girl.</p><p>“What’s your name?” he asked her.</p><p>“Amina. Where’s Orupi?”</p><p>“He’s your brother?”</p><p>“Yes. Please, I want to see him!”</p><p>Lucifer couldn’t lie to her but he knew the news of her brother’s death would destroy her.  The nurse had told them they had five minutes. He needed to try to find out more before telling her the truth. He sat down beside her.</p><p>“Who did this to you and your brother, Amina? Was it your parents?”</p><p>“No! They would never do that!” she exclaimed, horrified. “They must have been so worried when we didn’t come back home! It’s been so long!”</p><p>“Then who did this?” he said, waving at her body.</p><p>The girl attempted to shift her position and winced in pain. Lucifer looked down and took a deep breath. He knew how broken bones could be painful and wished he could have healed her. Even though his feathers couldn’t heal himself, they would work on her, but unfurling his wings in front of her was, of course, out of question.</p><p>“I don’t know who they are. My brother and I were fishing when they approached us on their boat. Orupi thought they had a problem and wanted to help, but we couldn’t understand what they were saying, so we went closer. All of a sudden, my brother seemed to have been bitten by something, and he just collapsed in the boat. I didn’t have time to react before something stung me and everything went dark. When I woke up, I realized we were prisoners.”</p><p>“How many men held you prisoners?”</p><p>“One man and one woman. I don’t know what they wanted from us.”</p><p>“Do you know their names?”</p><p>“No. We couldn’t understand their language. Can I see Orupi now? Please!”</p><p>Well, Lucifer guessed he couldn't hide the truth from her any longer. He sighed.</p><p>“I’m sorry Amina. When we found your brother, it was already too late for him.”</p><p>The girl gasped, her eyes widened with horror.</p><p>“Y– you mean… he’s… dead?” she said with a trembling voice.</p><p>“Yes. I’m really sorry. I wish…”</p><p>Lucifer couldn’t finish his sentence. The girl started crying and screaming and Lucifer froze in his seat, not knowing what to do to comfort her. He never had been good at comforting people and crying always set uneasiness in him.</p><p>The nurse rushed inside, demanding to know what happened, a furious look on her face. Lucifer was unable to answer, still frozen. Chloe gently took his arm and forced him to stand up and follow her.</p><p>“You told her about the boy?” she asked softly.</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>“He was her brother,” was the only thing he could say.</p><p>“You were able to talk to her?” the nurse asked, turning from the crying girl, visibly curious.</p><p>“My partner speaks every language,” Chloe said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.</p><p>The nurse gave her a weird look and asked them to leave. Chloe steered Lucifer toward the door and he let her lead him like a zombie.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>After dinner, Lucifer sat on the couch, a tumbler of whiskey in his hand. He hadn’t been drinking much since his return from Hell, but Chloe knew this day had been a hard one. Akuma lay beside him while Chloe sat on the other side.</p><p>He stretched over Akuma and grabbed the giant Stitch plush, pressing it against his chest. He had hugged the plush occasionally since he bought it, but he hadn’t touched it at all in the last month.</p><p>“You want to talk about it?” Chloe asked, rubbing his shoulder.</p><p>“There’s nothing to say. Humans can be horrible sometimes. Thankfully, Hell exists. On occasions like this, I wish I were still ruling over Hell.”</p><p>“We will find them and arrest them, Lucifer. You’re helping us to get justice here, on Earth. I’m sure they will get what they deserve when they die, even if you’re not down there.”</p><p>“I know. It’s just…” He shook his head and took a long sip of his drink. “It’s so unfair. Amina, she doesn’t deserve to suffer like that. She doesn’t deserve to lose her brother.” He took another sip, emptying his glass. “And now, she’s alone, far from her parents, in a country where she doesn’t even understand the language. It must be terrifying.”</p><p>“We can go visit her everyday if you want. At least, she will be able to speak with you.”</p><p>“Yes. I hope we find her parents quickly.”</p><p>“I hope so too.”</p><p>Lucifer bent forward and picked up the whiskey bottle on the table to fill his tumbler again.</p><p>“Are you sure you don’t want one, Detective?” he asked, pointing to the empty glass that she had declined earlier.</p><p>“Well, on second thought, I might as well have some. Just half an inch,” she added hastily.</p><p>They drank in silence for a while until Chloe began to feel tired.</p><p>“I’m going to bed,” she said, getting up. “Are you coming?” she added when she saw he wasn’t moving.</p><p>“Later. I won’t be able to sleep right now, and I’ll just disturb you if I can’t stop turning around. Sorry.”</p><p>“That’s okay. Good night.”</p><p>“Good night.”</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Chloe wasn’t sure if Lucifer had slept at all when she woke up the next morning. His side of the bed seemed untouched and he was already up, preparing breakfast. He looked a bit tired, but not completely exhausted, fortunately. With his invulnerability back, even around her, he was able to skip a night’s sleep without severe consequences.</p><p>The hospital called at nine o’clock on the dot, asking for Chloe and Lucifer to come back. Amina was apparently pretty unnerved since waking up and no one else understood what she was saying.</p><p>When they arrived in the room, a huge smile appeared on the girl's face, as if she were waiting for them. Chloe frowned when she recognized the giant plush the girl was cuddling and she looked at Lucifer who answered with a tight smile and a shrug.</p><p>Chloe pulled out her phone to start recording but the girl waved at her and shook her head.</p><p>“Maybe it’s better to not…” Amina trailed off.</p><p>Lucifer frowned but asked Chloe to not record for the moment.</p><p>“Are you an angel?” Amina asked Lucifer as soon as Chloe put her phone back in her pocket. She seemed to be in awe.</p><p>How? Lucifer wondered. She had been deeply asleep when he’d come back.</p><p>“Why do you ask?” he asked her cautiously.</p><p>“I dreamt of you last night. You were healing me and when I woke up this morning, my legs didn't hurt anymore.”</p><p>Lucifer looked down, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Should he tell her the truth?</p><p>“It’s okay, you know? No one understands me, so your secret is safe.”</p><p>Lucifer looked at her, still unsure of how to react.</p><p>“Is Orupi in Heaven?”</p><p>“He certainly is,” he answered with a smile.</p><p>“Did you see him?”</p><p>“No… I… why are you asking that question?”</p><p>“The elders in my village… they say that we can’t go to Heaven if we are not at peace with ourselves. Orupi promised me he would find help but… if you found him dead before he knew I was safe maybe he’s… he was… not at peace before dying.”</p><p>
  <em>Could the boy have felt guilty enough about that to be drawn to Hell? Lucifer wondered with horror. No, that can’t be enough to…</em>
</p><p>“Can you go check?” the girl said, biting her lower lip. “In Heaven, I mean. I… I just need to know. Please.”</p><p>“I will.” Lucifer answered with a sigh. It was not like he was still banished, after all. He couldn’t let Amina torture herself with that thought.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>“What was that all about?” Chloe asked on their way back to the precinct. “The Stitch plush, that was you wasn’t it?”</p><p>“Yes. I thought she might like it. I went back last night to heal her legs. I couldn’t heal all her cuts because it would appear suspicious but at least I’ve been able to do something for the worst of her pain. I couldn’t let her suffer like that but…” he stalled, looking at his hands in his lap.</p><p>“But what?” Chloe pressed.</p><p>“But it seems she saw me somehow. She asked me if I was an angel. Said that she dreamt of me.”</p><p>“What did you tell her?”</p><p>“At first nothing, but then she asked me to go check if her brother was in Heaven, so I had no other choice.”</p><p>“Why did she ask you that? Of course he is!”</p><p>Lucifer explained what the girl had told him.</p><p>“So you think he could be in Hell?”</p><p>“It’s a possibility, yes, even if I doubt it.”</p><p>“But it would be unfair! He is a victim!”</p><p>“I know.”</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Lucifer spent the rest of the day on edge, totally unfocused. Chloe knew why, but she still needed his help on the case.</p><p>Dan contacted the Micronesian consulate to inform them of the situation. They said they would send a representative as soon as possible.</p><p>They received the warrant for the rental company and were able to gather the information on the renters of the houses. Steve and Karen Dunlop. Husband and wife. They had been renting the house for almost four months.</p><p>Lucifer and Chloe went back to see Amina with pictures of the duo, and she confirmed they were the ones who had held them captive. Once Chloe stopped recording, Amina asked if Lucifer had gone check on her brother. He promised her he would as soon as he had time.</p><p>“We need to punish the bad people who did this to you and your brother,” he told her.</p><p>She nodded but added nothing.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>They put out a B.O.L.O. on the Dunlops and waited, hoping they would find them soon. On the other side, they were trying to find Amina and Orupi Piailug’s parents, but it was not an easy task, considering the language barrier and that their village had no internet. Lucifer could, of course, have flown there to find them, but they needed to follow the proper procedure and that didn’t include supernatural flight to a little island in Micronesia.</p><p>When his help wasn’t required anymore, Lucifer left Akuma with Chloe to go check for Orupi in Heaven.</p><p>“It might take some time, so we’ll meet at the penthouse. Even though I can find a soul in Hell pretty easily, I don’t think I have the same connection with souls in the Silver City. I might even need Dad’s help.”</p><p>“No problem, Lucifer. I’ll see you later.”</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The penthouse was all dark when Chloe went inside. Lucifer was certainly still in the Silver City, maybe even chatting with his Dad or Maze. She made herself a quick dinner and settled on the couch to watch a movie while waiting for Lucifer’s return.</p><p>Akuma’s barking woke her up. It was dark outside, but Lucifer didn’t seem to be home. She looked at Akuma who barked again and went to the windowed-doors separating the living room from the balcony. The dog probably needed to pee. Even if he usually went downstairs, Lucifer had set up a little corner on the balcony just for his needs.</p><p>Chloe opened the door but instead of going to his corner, Akuma went in the other direction.</p><p>And then she saw him. Huddled on the floor in a corner, covered with his wings.</p><p>“What happened? You didn’t find him?” she gently asked, kneeling beside Lucifer.</p><p>“I did,” he whispered.</p><p>He did. Why was he acting like this then? She could hear him moaning and see him rocking back and forth under his wings. Did he have an argument with his Dad?</p><p>“But what happened, then?” she pressed. “Talk to me, please! What’s wrong?!”</p><p>She shivered under the fresh night air and covered herself with her arms.</p><p>“Come inside, please.”</p><p>The thought of her being frozen made him react. He folded his wings out of sight and tried to get to his feet. Even several months later, getting up from the floor was still a little hard. He figured it would always be. Chloe helped him and he let her lead him inside and make him sit on the couch.</p><p>She turned to face him and gasped in horror.</p><p>Lucifer was covered in blood. </p><p>There was blood on his jacket, vest, shirt, and pants. His pants were the worst. They were almost completely soaked in blood.</p><p>“Lucifer!” she almost yelled. “Oh my God! Are you hurt?!”</p><p>“Not mine,” he mumbled.</p><p>“Who’s blood is this then?!”</p><p>“Orupi’s.”</p><p>He finally raised his head to look at her.</p><p>“He’s in Hell.”</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. I Had To Try Something</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much everyone for your feedback on the first chapter! I highly appreciate all your comments!</p>
<p>If you haven’t read Broken, this chapter might confuse you. I’m sure you’ll get used to this version of Lucifer in no time! (more precisions in the end note)</p>
<p>So, let’s hear Chloe and Lucifer’s discussion about what happened in Hell! </p>
<p>Thanks again to my beta readers Feartheviolas, Humbiecat and Fox_2005!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Wait! What? You went to Hell? Alone?!”</p>
<p>He nodded, not looking at her.</p>
<p>“What were you thinking?! You know how risky it is to go there with the bonding!”</p>
<p>“I had to verify. I had to.” His voice broke and tears started falling on his cheeks. </p>
<p>Chloe’s fury subsided in a snap. She was sure he hadn’t even thought about the dangers of going back to Hell alone. He just needed to check on the poor boy. His own security had never mattered to him when a promise was involved.</p>
<p>She sat beside him and put her right arm on his back and her left one on his chest. She started rubbing his back in circles to comfort him. His silent tears became sobbing.</p>
<p>“Shhh, that’s okay. I’m sorry I reacted like that but you know that Hell is not safe for you anymore. Even if Maze helped with the bonding, you told me Lilith could be able to by-pass that somehow. I just don’t want you to get hurt. You’ve suffered enough don’t you think?”</p>
<p>He put his hand over hers but didn’t answer. He knew she was right but he had to try something. Chloe noticed that except in a few spots on his pants, the blood was already dried. How much time had he spent on the balcony before Akuma woke her up?</p>
<p>“Okay, listen. I want to know everything but it can wait. I think you should go take a shower first. Maybe the story can even wait until tomorrow morning. You looked exhausted.”</p>
<p>Lucifer nodded without a word. He knew his tears would become a torrent if he spoke. He stood up slowly and went to the bathroom.</p>
<p>“I will get your pajama pants and your robe.” She added, heading toward the bedroom. “Do you want your wheelchair too?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” he whispered, barely audible.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer stayed huddled at the bottom of the shower for more than half-an-hour, letting the hot water dissolve all the blood on him. It washed away his tears until he had no more left to spill. </p>
<p>It was the first time he had ever reacted this way to someone being in Hell. Usually, he told himself that everyone in Hell had something deep down that brought them there. That they deserved their fate. Or he just didn’t bother to care about them.</p>
<p>This time was different.</p>
<p>He had spent weeks with Orupi, watching his Hell’s loop over and over. Trying to get him to drop his guilt again and again. Not a single time did the boy do anything wrong. He was a good boy, listening to his parents, caring for his brothers and sisters, respectful toward everyone.</p>
<p>The boy had just turned thirteen and had finally been authorized to go fishing alone. He was so proud. Even if Amina was only ten, he was really close to her and wanted to bring her with him. Had begged his parents to let him bring her. Had promised everything would be fine and that he would take great care of his sister.</p>
<p>His only sin was misplaced guilt. Guilt for his unkept promise to his parents. Guilt that he had  been unable to protect his sister from the cruelty of their torturers. Guilt for not finding the help he promised her when he escaped. Guilt for things he had no control over. All this because he wanted to help in the first place. He thought the lady on the big boat had had a problem.</p>
<p>And now, the teenager was stuck in Hell, reliving his torture. Dying, over and over.</p>
<p>Lucifer knew deep down that he would never be able to stop thinking about it. Would never stop trying to pull him out of there. He needed to talk to Michael about it. He could defend him if Lilith found a way to make the bonding work again.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“Are you feeling better?” Chloe asked him when he finally got out of the shower.</p>
<p>“Yes, a little. Do you mind serving me a drink?”</p>
<p>“Sure! Settle on the couch, I will join you.”</p>
<p>Chloe brought two tumblers and a bottle of whiskey and put them on the coffee table. Lucifer had already transferred from his wheelchair to the couch, Akuma lying beside him. He was so used to doing it now he just couldn’t believe how hard it had been at first. He could have worn his prostheses until the moment he went to sleep but had kept the habit of removing them in the evening. He still loved when Chloe massaged his stumps. Even if Chloe’s caresses didn’t bring any bad memories anymore, this ‘new’ part of his body would always remain special to them.</p>
<p>Chloe filled both tumblers halfway and gave one to Lucifer.</p>
<p>“So, how did you find out that the boy was in Hell?”</p>
<p>Lucifer took a long sip of his drink before answering.</p>
<p>“Well, first, I quickly realized I couldn’t identify a soul in the Silver City. At least, not in the way I used to in Hell. So I went to see Dad and He helped me but… Orupi’s soul wasn’t to be found in the Silver City. Since there are only two places souls can go when their vessel dies, it meant Orupi was in Hell, so I went down.”</p>
<p>“Why take that risk? You only promised Amina to check for him in Heaven after all.”</p>
<p>“I had to try something!”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“Cells in Hell are not locked, Detective. It’s only the soul’s guilt that keeps them there. I was hoping that I could help him. By telling him that his sister was safe. That because of his escape we found her, but nothing I said lessened his guilt. I tried for weeks!”</p>
<p>“Weeks?”</p>
<p>“Yes! You know that time in Hell is much slower than here. I just spent a few weeks down there with Orupi. I tried everything but nothing I said or did worked!”</p>
<p>Chloe noticed that he seemed distressed and if she’d thought he was exhausted before, it seemed to have been an understatement. But if he had spent weeks in Hell without sleeping, combined with the sleepless night he had just spent on earth, his condition was not surprising. </p>
<p>“If you prefer, you can wait until tomorrow to tell me everything,” she said softly, stroking his arm.</p>
<p>Lucifer took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Just thinking about it was hard but he needed to tell Chloe what he had seen. He knew he would have nightmares about it if he didn't. If he had learned something about anything that had happened to him, it was that keeping everything to himself was the perfect recipe for a disaster. </p>
<p>“No. I need to talk about it. I just… I don’t understand why I’m reacting like this. I mean, he’s not the first teenager in Hell and certainly not the first soul there with misplaced guilt.”</p>
<p>“You met his sister who asked you to go check on him. <em>That</em> is probably a first.”</p>
<p>“Yes, you’re right. I feel so bad for them.”</p>
<p>They sat in silence for a while, Lucifer gathering his thoughts and Chloe not wanting to push him any further. He finished his glass and poured himself another one before starting relating what he saw in the boy’s Hell loop.</p>
<p>“On the first day it didn’t seem too bad, except that Amina was crying a lot. The kids were locked in a room in the hold of the boat and their captors brought them food and water. It all changed soon after that, when Karen seemed to lose patience with Amina’s cries and slapped her. From then on, it got worse and worse.”</p>
<p>“But how did they end up in Los Angeles? Did you see that?”</p>
<p>“They spent a lot of time on the boat, I would say two or three months, maybe even more. Probably navigating from Micronesia to California. The whole time they were in the boat, it was bad, but nothing compared to when they arrived at the house. After Orupi tried to escape the first time, they broke both kids’ legs and locked them in cages. In cages! Like wild animals!”</p>
<p>Chloe had already known about the cages. When Dan had found the little girl, she had gone down to try to reassure her. They had stopped Lucifer from going downstairs, which is why he hadn’t known about it. Orupi’s feet were still in his cage, like a reminder of what he suffered and neither Dan nor Chloe had thought it was a good idea to let Lucifer see that at the moment. He had already been shocked enough.</p>
<p>“I know. I saw his feet and the cages at the house. It was horrific. I can't imagine how anyone could do that to children."</p>
<p>“I don’t know. Even demons don’t torture innocent people like that. The worst is that what they did was for nothing, since it didn’t stop Orupi from trying to escape again. He had nothing to lose at that point and badly wanted to save his sister. No one should have to suffer what that poor child went through. ”</p>
<p>He took another swig, even though the alcohol had almost no effect on him. </p>
<p>“Even though they broke both of the kid’s legs,” he continued after a pause, “Orupi managed to escape his cage a second time and almost succeeded in getting outside the house. I think they amputated his feet to make sure he wouldn’t try again.”</p>
<p>“Have you been able to figure out why the Dunlops left? Chloe asked. “Do you think they just abandoned the kids or were they supposed to come back?”</p>
<p>“It’s hard to say. Since Orupi couldn’t understand English, almost everything their captors were saying sounds like gibberish in his loop.”</p>
<p>“So you don’t really know what happened to them?”</p>
<p>“Oh no, I do. Too well. I can’t stop hearing Amina’s cries and Orupi’s screams in my head. I know exactly what they’ve been through. I just don’t understand why they’d been tortured like that. What their captors wanted in the first place. Why did they kidnap them and do all that?”</p>
<p><em>He couldn’t stop hearing their cries and screams. Doesn't he already have enough to cope with on his own? How long would this haunt him?</em> Chloe thought.</p>
<p>“You will be able to question them when we find them,” she said softly, trying to find a way to comfort him.</p>
<p>“Oh yes I will, and believe me, they will tell me everything I want to know.”</p>
<p>“I have no doubt about that.” She was gently rubbing his thigh in soothing circles. “What about all the blood?”</p>
<p>“I– I rocked him. I didn’t know what else I could do. When I was distressed in the Silver City after realizing what the amputations really meant, that’s what my Father did. It was the first time in all my life that I was rocked like this and maybe the first time I really felt peace. I was hoping it would work for him too and help him forget his guilt, but it didn’t. He died in my arms. Multiple times.”</p>
<p>He closed his eyes and shivered, obviously remembering the scene too well.  Suddenly,  as though a dam had suddenly broken in him, he started crying openly, unable to stop. He huddled in a tight ball and Chloe took him in her arms until he calmed down. </p>
<p>“I hate all these tears!” he said when he was able to speak. “I’m becoming weak again!”</p>
<p>“Crying is not getting weak, Lucifer. I know it’s sad but you did everything you could to help this boy. It’s between him and his guilt now.”</p>
<p>“No! This system is all wrong! There must be a way! There must be!”</p>
<p>His sobs seemed to intensify, if that were even possible. Chloe was rubbing his back while her other hand stroked his hair.</p>
<p>“I need to find a way to get him out of there,” Lucifer added.“I can’t let him suffer for eternity. He doesn’t deserve any of this.”</p>
<p>“You can’t just pull him out yourself? I mean, I know you’re not really the King of Hell anymore but you still have a certain control over the place, no?”</p>
<p>“What do you think? That I didn’t try? I did, and it’s impossible. He still feels too much guilt and just can’t leave his Hell loop. It’s the way Hell works.”</p>
<p>“What do you intend to do? Not returning there, I hope?!”</p>
<p>“I don’t really have a choice. I won’t be at peace until this boy is out of there. I will talk to Mi tomorrow and try to see what we can do.”</p>
<p>“But what about Lilith?”</p>
<p>“I didn’t see her when I went down. Maybe if we do it quickly, it will be fine. I’m more worried about how we are gonna be able to pull him out of there.”</p>
<p>Chloe sighed. She didn’t like the idea of him going back to Hell but understood it was something he needed to do. Lucifer was still shivering in her arms, eyes closed.</p>
<p>“Come to bed,” Chloe said. “We’ll try to find a solution tomorrow.”</p>
<p>He nodded but didn’t move, as though the mere movement would make him start crying again. They stayed like this a few minutes until Lucifer spoke.</p>
<p>“How am I going to tell Amina that her brother is in Hell?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A little precision about the bonding if you haven't read Broken. While Lucifer was imprisoned in Hell, Lilith and the demons burned a branding mark on Lucifer’s forearm and created a bonding within it that forced him to obey their commands. Maze had been able to lessen it, but the branding mark is still there and could be reactivated at any time.</p>
<p>About the amputations, Lucifer’s feet had been badly burned by being soaked in the lava lake (Lucifer was vulnerable in Hell) and Raphael could do nothing to heal them and had to amputate them to mid-calf. God is not all powerful in this series and couldn't help either.</p>
<p>I know that this version of God and Lucifer doesn't please everyone, but it serves my story. You will need to read to the end to know why all this is important!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Morning Star Is Fair</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here we go for another chapter! I hope you'll like it!</p>
<p>Thanks again to my betas Feartheviolas, Humbiecat and Fox_2005.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer didn’t sleep well. He didn’t recall having nightmares but every time he woke, he felt ill at ease and took a lot of time to fall back asleep. A little past five in the morning, he decided to get out of bed. It wasn't worth trying to go back to sleep.</p>
<p>He put his prostheses on and went to the balcony, Akuma following him. He was wearing only boxers and his silky robe, but the cool air of the night didn’t bother him. He leaned on the guardrail, watching the city, still covered under the night sky. He loved that moment, quieter than during the day, as if the myriads of artificial lights competing with his stars wove a silken comforter of gloom over the skyline. Soon to be vanished by the morning, who would announce itself in a lighter blue of the eastern sky.</p>
<p>For a moment, he considered going to talk with his Father, but he discarded the idea. He knew his Father couldn’t pull a soul out of Hell and trying to explain the fact that there were souls in Hell – especially Orupi’s – that didn’t belong there would only end in a quarrel. He didn’t want that.</p>
<p>It was still strange for him to think about his Father this way. Not cursing Him. Not calling Him a bastard or even just thinking about Him as one. He had never had a good relationship with his Father, even before his Rebellion and his Fall. He had tried so hard to earn his respect. Hoping to see Him satisfied with his work. It wasn't even about being loved. He hadn’t known what it was at the time. He just wanted to feel worthy. Just once, hear his Father say He was proud. He never did.</p>
<p>He and his Father were both doing their best to make a fresh start. Lucifer couldn’t forget all he’d been through because of Him, but now he could see  all the effort his Father put into making amends. Lucifer had been through Hell – both physically and metaphorically – but he’d come to realize the hardship he’d experienced made him appreciate his current situation all the more. Except for Orupi. Except for the way Hell worked. He just couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it. Why couldn’t he just not care like he had always done? </p>
<p>Deep down, he knew the answer to his question. He would never admit it though. Could he admit to caring about children he didn’t even know existed a few days ago? He despised children, didn’t he? Well, except for the Detective’s spawn and his nephew, of course. How weak would he appear if he admitted he cared? Hadn't he been weak enough?</p>
<p>Lucifer sighed. He tried to focus on something else, watching the dawn as the stars slowly faded and the sky lightened. The city at his feet was still mostly asleep. Only a few cars were on the road at this hour, but that would change in less than half an hour. The silent hum of the sleeping city would change into the loud mixture of cars, honking and accelerating, police indicating their will to pass with the shrill sounds of their sirenes, the deeper rolling sounds of trucks and tourist busses, the voices of the explanations washing up even to his penthouse's balcony.</p>
<p>Traffic. Such a nuisance in L.A. It would be so much simpler if he could just fly from one place to another instead of driving or rather crawling from one traffic jam into the next. They had planned to go visit Amina on their way to the precinct and the traffic was horrible around the hospital. </p>
<p>Amina. As if his brain couldn’t stop thinking about her or her brother for more than two minutes. While he was tossing and turning in the night, he had thought about how he would tell her about her brother. He couldn’t think of anything that would make the situation any easier though. He couldn’t lie to her. Using one of his usual loopholes wouldn’t help either. What effect would learning her brother’s unfortunate fate have on her? Would she feel guilty in turn because she asked Orupi to bring her with him? Would it condemn her to Hell too?</p>
<p>The more he tried to stop thinking about Amina and Orupi, the more his mind spiraled and he couldn’t think about anything else. It was like he was creating his personal Hell loop on Earth. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear it when the windowed door opened.</p>
<p>“Good morning,” Chloe said, dropping a soft kiss on his neck.</p>
<p>Lucifer startled and tensed at first, but relaxed a little when he realized it was Chloe. She was draped in a comforter trying to stay warm despite the crisp morning air. </p>
<p>“Are you alright?” she asked, noticing his uneasiness. “I was worried when I woke up and saw you weren’t in bed.” She moved to his side, but kept a little distance between them. He seemed to be in one of his ‘I need to be alone’ moments. </p>
<p>“I’m–” He was about to say that he was fine but he wasn’t, wasn’t he? How could he say he was fine when he felt locked in an endless loop? </p>
<p>“You know that you can talk to me, right?” she said, when he didn’t finish his sentence. </p>
<p>“Yes.” His voice was almost a whisper. He didn’t elaborate.</p>
<p>They stood in silence for a while, watching the sunrise side-by-side. After a few minutes, she tentatively put her hand in his and he didn’t pull away. Time stretched on.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” he said, finally looking at her.</p>
<p>“For what?” Chloe frowned. </p>
<p>“For being here. With me.”</p>
<p>Chloe’s heart constricted at his words. Even after all this time, he still thought of her presence as a gift. As though she were doing him a favor to stay by his side. </p>
<p>“I love you,” she answered simply.</p>
<p>“Oh Chloe, I can’t thank my Father enough to have put you on my path.” </p>
<p>He turned toward her, bringing his other hand to their already clasped hands. She noticed he held a cigarette, but it wasn’t lit.</p>
<p>“Did you start smoking again?”</p>
<p>When he’d been rescued from Hell, he hadn’t been able to smoke since he had been unable to use his hands. She hadn’t seen him smoke since then. She was glad that he had stopped, she hated the smell. </p>
<p>“No. I just… Father Frank, he… he told me he used to do that even after he quit smoking. When I saw him in the Silver City, he was still doing the same thing.”</p>
<p>“You never told me you saw him there.”</p>
<p>“It was a few weeks ago, when your Spawn harassed me about Maze’s training video and I forgot after that. I went to see my Dad, and Father Frank was with Him. We chatted for almost one hour about what happened to me, my relation with Michael, and how he is now, working with my Father.”</p>
<p>“Wait! Father Frank works with God? What is he doing?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know exactly. He said they were working on ‘fixing things’. At the end of the conversation, as I was ready to leave, he told me something strange, though.”</p>
<p>“What did he say?</p>
<p>“He said that soon, I would be ready.”</p>
<p>“Ready? But ready for what?”</p>
<p>“I have no idea. I wanted to ask him more details but Dad came back and Father Frank just smiled at me and left.”</p>
<p>“You could have asked your Father if he knew what Father Frank was talking about.”</p>
<p>“I did, but He said it was not important for now and started talking about something else.”</p>
<p>“Well, I guess if it becomes important, He will let you know.”</p>
<p>“I guess so.”</p>
<p>The sun had warmed  the air a little, and Chloe let the comforter down a bit on her shoulders.</p>
<p>“Thank you.” Lucifer said once again. “You helped me focus on something else for a while, and it was welcomed.”</p>
<p>For a second, Chloe didn’t understand what he was talking about.</p>
<p>“I guess we should eat breakfast and get prepared to visit Amina now, shall we?” he added.</p>
<p><em>Oh! That!</em> Of course he had been thinking about that before she joined him. He seemed so worried yesterday evening at the prospect of telling Amina the truth about her brother.</p>
<p>“You know, if you don’t want to tell her the truth, you can just tell her that you didn’t find her brother in Heaven. That’s not a lie.”</p>
<p>“But it still implies that he’s in Hell. Besides, she might be able to help me find a way to get him out of there. Maybe she knows what I could tell him that would help ease his guilt.”</p>
<p>“Maybe,” Chloe sighed. She didn’t like the idea of Lucifer returning to Hell, but she knew he needed to, at least, try again. “Promise me you won’t go there alone. That Michael or Amenadiel will go with you.”</p>
<p>“I promise. I will talk to Mi about it today.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>They arrived earlier than the authorized visiting hours, but with Chloe’s L.A.P.D. badge, they were allowed into Amina’s room. The little girl was holding the Stitch plush in a tight embrace. Lucifer sat on the chair beside the bed, bracing himself for the conversation to come.</p>
<p>He let Akuma go to the bed this time. The dog couldn’t jump on it because of the guards on the sides, but he managed to put his front paws on the bed and stuck his head between the guard posts. Amina stretched out her hand to stroke his fur.</p>
<p>“She had nightmares last night,” the nurse said, looking at Chloe. “She screamed a lot and even woke up a few patients.”</p>
<p>“She must be terrified, alone here, not understanding a word of what people say.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I don’t doubt it. Speaking of understanding, the doctor should be here in about half an hour to check on how she’s doing. Do you think you can stay here until she comes so your partner will be able to translate?”</p>
<p>“I guess so. I’ll call the precinct to inform them we’ll arrive later.”</p>
<p>Chloe took out her phone and moved to the room entrance to make her call without disturbing Lucifer and Amina’s conversation.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>When they arrived in the room, Lucifer didn’t want to talk about Orupi right away. While Chloe was talking with the nurse, Lucifer and Amina chatted about Akuma. </p>
<p>After the nurse left, Lucifer had been about to tell Amina about her brother, but the doctor came in the room soon after. The nurse had probably told her that a translator was available and she decided to visit earlier. </p>
<p>Chloe pulled out her phone and began recording. She hadn’t originally planned to record, due to the nature of the conversation Lucifer was planning to have with Amina, but now that the doctor was here they wouldn’t be having that conversation just yet anyway. Satawalese or not, another translator would certainly check at this later for the Dunlops’ trial, and this conversation with the doctor would be invaluable evidence.</p>
<p>The doctor introduced herself and examined Amina’s cuts to make sure they were healing properly.</p>
<p>“Everything is healing well. I don’t think that she will have any further complications from her broken legs, once fully healed. After she’s discharged, she will need to have X-Rays in about one month to see how things are healing.”</p>
<p>Lucifer and Chloe nodded. Neither of them told her that Amina’s legs were already healed and that Lucifer would take care of her cuts as soon as she was out of the hospital.</p>
<p>“There’s one last thing that I need to know.” The doctor cleared her throat before continuing. “We already examined her and found nothing, but it doesn’t mean nothing happened. Since we were unable to talk with her it was hard to ask.”</p>
<p>Lucifer frowned, not understanding where the doctor was going with her rambling. Chloe had. </p>
<p>“You don’t think she…” she began.</p>
<p>“No, we don’t, but we need to ask,” the doctor said.</p>
<p>“What?” Lucifer enquired.</p>
<p>“Was she sexually abused?”</p>
<p>“What?! But she’s ten! How am I supposed to ask her that?!”</p>
<p>“I know it’s not an easy question but it’s important.”</p>
<p>Lucifer closed his eyes. It seemed as though this day was going to be one of difficult subjects. With as much softness as he could, he asked Amina the question. He sighed with relief when she shook her head and said nothing happened.</p>
<p>“Great!” the doctor said. “So, we’re just waiting on her final blood tests to determine how badly she’s malnourished, and if they come back clean, she will be good to go. I figure someone from the Office of Refugee Resettlement will call or come by soon?”</p>
<p>“They have been informed of the situation, and someone from the consulate will be arriving today as well,” Chloe said.</p>
<p>“Perfect. We’ll keep in touch.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For a moment, Lucifer thought he could delay the conversation about Orupi, but as soon as the doctor left, Amina asked him if he had checked on him.</p>
<p>“I… I went to Heaven…” he stalled, unable to force the words out of his throat.</p>
<p>“You didn’t find him, did you?”</p>
<p>Lucifer bent his head, looking down at his hands.</p>
<p>“I knew he wasn’t at peace. He was in a lot of pain when he escaped and he was so afraid for me,” the little girl told him in a small voice, caught between crying and hope. “I should have told him to stay. Maybe they would have come back and prevented him from dying. Maybe he–”</p>
<p>“Never think it’s your fault! Your captors never came back, so it wouldn’t have changed anything for him. At least we were able to find you because he escaped.”</p>
<p>“But maybe… maybe he would have found peace if–” She stalled, a quivering lower lip sinking deep into the plush.</p>
<p>“Please! Don’t burden yourself with that.” Lucifer felt the horror crawling up his limbs, imagining this innocent child drawn to hell by miss driven guilt. “You won’t be able to find peace yourself otherwise. It was not your fault Amina. None of this was. Everything was your captors’ fault, and be sure, we will find them and punish them. I’m really sorry that your brother wasn’t able to find peace, and I will do everything I can to help him find it, but please, try to be at peace yourself. Don’t feel guilty about it.”</p>
<p>She nodded and remained silent for a moment.</p>
<p>“You said that you will help him? You are able to go to Lamwal?”</p>
<p>“To where?” Lucifer asked. He never heard that word before.</p>
<p>“Lamwal. You know, the waiting place where we go if we’re not at peace.”</p>
<p>“The waiting place… You mean… Purgatory?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know what that is but I suppose you could call it that.”</p>
<p>“Purgatory is a human invention. It never existed.”</p>
<p>“But… but… if it doesn’t exist… Orupi is… where is he?”</p>
<p>The girl was looking at him with teary eyes, probably dreading the answer he was about to give her. Lucifer took a deep breath.</p>
<p>“I promise Amina, that I will do everything I can to get him out of there. Hell is no place for him and I will find a way to fix this mistake.”</p>
<p>“But he won’t be punished, right? The Morning Star is fair. He won’t punish him!”</p>
<p>“The Mo–” Lucifer almost choked on his own name. “You mean the Devil?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know the Devil but it must be the same. The one who punishes bad people.”</p>
<p>Lucifer realized that he had never told her his last name so she couldn’t have made the link between the ‘Morning Star’ and him. Lucifer probably meant nothing in her religion. How her people came to call the Devil ‘the Morning Star’, he had no clue, but there was no need to frighten her if she thought that he was a simple angel. He gave her a small smile.</p>
<p>“No, he won’t. As you said, he’s fair.”</p>
<p>She smiled back, wiping away her tears.</p>
<p>“Everything will be fine, then.”</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Your comments are always welcomed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Is That What You Desire?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for your comments on the previous chapter! I love to read them!</p>
<p>Thanks again to my betas: Feartheviolas, Humbiecat and Fox_2005. Feartheviolas worked a lot on that chapter, finding all details on the procedure on 'what to do with Amina'. It was the most complicated chapter I ever wrote in trying to be as accurate to the reality as possible. If the FBI knock at Feartheviolas's door, it's my fault!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer was relieved that the discussion had gone well with Amina. She was so trusting that everything would be fine. He would have loved to have that confidence.</p>
<p>They arrived at the precinct almost forty-five minutes later than usual. Traffic at this hour was the worst.</p>
<p>“Where’s Dan?’ Chloe asked Ella. </p>
<p>“He just left for the airport to pick up the representative from the Micronesian consulate. His flight from Portland is landing at 9:23.”</p>
<p>There was not much they could do before the representative arrived. Now knowing that the Dunlops owned a sixty-two foot yacht – which was not moored at Marina Del Ray where it used to be – they had alerted the U.S. Coast Guard. Unfortunately, it was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack. They had no idea where they’d gone, since they didn’t own any properties aside from the one they’d rented, where the children had been imprisoned. Worse, they could be living on the boat itself, and it was impossible to tell where they’d dock next. Ports along the west coast had been alerted, but there was a high probability that they wouldn’t return to the United States.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Meanwhile, as the women discussed logistics, Lucifer took the opportunity to speak to Michael privately.</p>
<p>“You want to do what?!” Michael exclaimed, horrified, after Lucifer had explained what he intended to do. “You know I hate this place! It’s oppressive, unsettling and horrible!”</p>
<p>“I can’t let him stay there! He doesn’t belong in Hell! The system is all screwed up and I’m the only one who can help him! But with the bonding… I– I promised the Detective I wouldn’t go alone. I could ask Amenadiel, but I’d prefer it’d be you.”</p>
<p>Michael sighed. Being twins with the Devil could have some side effects.</p>
<p>“When do you want to go?” he conceded.</p>
<p>“As soon as possible. Maybe we’ll have some time later today. With every hour passing, it’s weeks in Hell for him.”</p>
<p>Michael sighed again. “Just tell me when you’re ready.”</p>
<p>Lucifer gave him a little smile.</p>
<p>“Thanks Mi.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer was half sitting on the corner of Chloe’s desk when Dan came back, carrying the biggest suitcase Lucifer has ever seen. The Micronesian consulate representative was following Dan, carrying a tiny laptop briefcase.</p>
<p>The man, probably in his late forties, had pale skin and light brown hair, not unlike Dan’s. He was slightly smaller than Dan, as well, but the similarities stopped there. While Dan was muscular, in shape, and had hair enough to cover two heads, the man behind him was chubby with a protruding beer belly and had a prominent bald patch on the top of his head. He was sweating profusely, as though he were carrying a briefcase full of concrete, rather than a small laptop. </p>
<p>However, from Lucifer’s perspective, it was far from the worst thing about him. Under his cheap, royal blue jacket – that Lucifer was sure he couldn’t button – he was wearing a colorful Hawaiian shirt. </p>
<p>As he was examining the representative with disdain, Lucifer noticed that the man's gaze was fixed on a point beside Chloe’s desk. He looked down, wondering what the man was staring at. It took him a few seconds to realize the only thing on the side of the desk was his leg. His pant leg was hitched up a little, and the pole of his prosthesis was visible beneath it. Lucifer looked back at the man, but when the latter realized that Lucifer was staring at him, he looked away. </p>
<p>Lucifer hurriedly put his foot back on the floor. He was not ashamed of his prostheses, but he hated when people stared at him as though he were some sort of strange animal.</p>
<p>Dan presented their guest as Bruce Shrew and Chloe stood up to shake his hand and introduce herself. When Lucifer introduced himself in turn, Bruce’s gaze lingered far too long on the splints over his hands. He said nothing though; the fierce gaze Lucifer sent him was plenty enough to discourage the man from making an idle comment.</p>
<p>Ella and Michael came over from the lab to introduce themselves as well. Bruce looked back and forth between Michael and Lucifer, and Michael confirmed that they were twins, answering his silent question. The fact that one twin had ‘Morningstar’ as his last name, while the other had ‘Demiurgos’ was certainly confusing, despite their uncanny resemblance. Apart from Michael's unbelievably blue eyes, and the scar on Lucifer’s forehead, the twins were absolutely identical now that Lucifer had gained back all his weight.</p>
<p>Lucifer suddenly complained he was hungry and left for the break room to get something from the vending machine. As soon as he was out of earshot – or at least, appeared to be – Bruce turned towards Chloe.</p>
<p>“Is he on a disabled program or something?” he asked, nodding his chin towards Lucifer.</p>
<p>“What?!” Chloe’s head jerked up in surprise. “Not at all! What makes you think that?”</p>
<p>“Well, with his hands and feet…” he trailed off, suddenly uncomfortable.</p>
<p>“Believe me, he’s far from disabled,” Chloe answered darkly, her tone almost menacing “Don’t ever say that in front of him, if you want to keep your job.”</p>
<p>The man swallowed nervously. </p>
<p>Chloe hoped Lucifer was too preoccupied by his empty stomach to have heard him. With his celestial hearing, he was certainly close enough.</p>
<p>“You want him on your side, not against you,” Dan added. </p>
<p>“He doesn’t seem to like me much already,” Bruce said with a shrug.</p>
<p>“It could be worse,” Chloe said flatly. “This case means a lot to him, and he’s already on the edge. Please, don’t do anything that would upset him.”</p>
<p>They invited Bruce to settle down at an empty desk in the bullpen, but the representative declined, saying he would like to meet the girl first. Lucifer came back at that moment, a Cool Ranch Puffs package in his hands.</p>
<p>“The girl has a name. Amina,” Lucifer said sharply. “We saw her two hours ago, while she was being examined by the doctor. I think we should let her rest a little.”</p>
<p>“You don’t get to decide how I do things,” Bruce replied curtly.</p>
<p>“Well, here comes Bruce from the screw crew. Unless you speak Satawalese, you will need to wait for me to be able to speak to her.”</p>
<p>“I can call another translator.”</p>
<p>“Good luck with that!” Lucifer laughed. “Are you aware of how many people in the world actually speak that language?”</p>
<p>“O– kay!” Ella interrupted them. “I think we should give you an update on the case first anyway. You can call the hospital after to set up a time to meet Amina.”</p>
<p>“Sounds good to me,” Chloe added, nodding at Lucifer.</p>
<p>Lucifer and Bruce stared at each other intensely, like two roosters in a henhouse, neither wanting to be the first to back down.</p>
<p>“Okay!” Bruce conceded, looking down. “We’ll do it as you suggested, Ellen.”</p>
<p>“Ella,” she corrected him, scowling.</p>
<p>Only Maze had ever called her Ellen and Ella suddenly felt as though someone had rained on her parade. Even if they still exchanged videos from time to time, it was not the same thing as having her alive among them. Everyone noticed the change in her demeanor.</p>
<p>Dan, the only one that Bruce had not alienated yet, – except for Michael of course, but then again, it took a lot to alienate Michael – decided to start on the case update before things get out of hand.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Just before noon, Lucifer called the hospital to see if he could speak to Amina. The girl had already eaten and agreed to meet them, including a woman from the Office of Refugee Resettlement who had called earlier. The latter was going to meet Chloe, Lucifer, and Bruce at the hospital.</p>
<p>They left Bruce’s suitcase at the precinct, his hotel room wouldn’t be ready before one o’clock anyway.</p>
<p>All the way to the hospital, Lucifer remained silent, petting Akuma, who was lying on his lap. Chloe didn’t try to make the conversation either and only the music from the radio filled the space. Lucifer had flipped from channel to channel until he found a station that was playing old ‘90s songs. He didn’t like those much, but knew Chloe did. Bruce was sitting in the back of Chloe’s cruiser and had the good sense to stay quiet.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The woman from the Office of Refugee Resettlement was young – mid to late twenties – with curly, light brown hair that shone and glistened as she walked. She had an almost perfect face, but she looked so severe that all her beauty was eclipsed by the aura she exuded. Her eyes were an icy blue, not the same electrifying blue as Michael’s, but something colder, almost frightening. She introduced herself – Caroline Williams – but didn’t shake hands with anyone. Her voice was high-pitched and instantly irritated Lucifer, whose patience was already stretched thin.</p>
<p>The minute she arrived in Amina’s room, she asked the doctor – the same one Lucifer and Chloe had met earlier – when Amina would be able to leave the hospital.</p>
<p>“We already have foster care ready to receive her,” she said coldly.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure foster care is the best option for her,” the doctor answered slowly. “I thought–”</p>
<p>“It’s not up to you to decide where she will go. It’s the Office of Refugee Resettlement who makes that decision, and I am the one they assigned to her case.”</p>
<p>“But she doesn’t speak a word of English.”</p>
<p>“So? The family there will still take care of her.”</p>
<p>“She has broken legs. She needs to be able to express it if she’s in pain.” The doctor looked at Lucifer but he seemed lost in his thoughts and didn’t answer.</p>
<p>“Ask the translator to teach her how to say it in English,” Bruce intervened. “She’s a child, she will learn that fast.”</p>
<p>The translator. Chloe looked at Lucifer, surprised that he didn’t reply. </p>
<p>“Hey, are you all right?” she asked softly, squeezing his forearm gently. </p>
<p>He didn’t seem to be in a dissociative episode at least, just away. He shook himself.</p>
<p>“I– I’m sorry. What were you saying?” he asked hesitantly.</p>
<p>But before Chloe could answer, his face changed and he went toward Amina, sitting on the chair beside the bed and starting to talk to her. Chloe noticed Amina’s eyes were teary.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“Amina, why are you crying?” Lucifer asked as soon as he noticed her teary eyes.</p>
<p>“Are they the people who will take care of me, like you said on the phone?” the girl asked with a little voice.</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“Are they arguing about me?”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening to their conversation.” He stopped talking for a few seconds and realized she was right.</p>
<p>“Did I do something wrong?” Amina asked.</p>
<p>“No! Of course not! It’s just… they don't agree on where you should stay until you can go home.”</p>
<p>“I– I thought I could stay with you…” Amina looked at Lucifer with pleading eyes and Lucifer frowned. They had never talked about this possibility. “But I guess I can’t… maybe you… do you live in the sky?” The last part of her sentence was almost a whisper. Lucifer laughed.</p>
<p>“No, sweetie, even if my place is up pretty high.” He paused for a few seconds, thinking. “Is that what you desire? To stay with me?”</p>
<p>“I can’t speak with anyone else…” she said hesitantly.</p>
<p>“Do you want to stay with me and the Detective?’</p>
<p>“If… it’s okay… yes.”</p>
<p>“I will arrange it. Would you like Akuma to stay with you while we talk outside?”</p>
<p>“Oh, yes!”</p>
<p>Lucifer smiled, took Akuma, and put him in the bed. The dog immediately lay down beside Amina, his head on her lap, and she started stroking his fur. </p>
<p>“I’ll be right back,” he reassured her.</p>
<p>Lucifer stood up and turned to face the four people still arguing in the room.</p>
<p>“Stop!” he growled. His voice was low, almost a rolling thunder. He waved toward the door. “There will be no more arguing in front of Amina! You’ve upset her. Go outside. We need to talk.”</p>
<p>Reluctantly, everyone went outside the room. No one would have dared argue with Lucifer’s tone. </p>
<p>The corridor was not large enough to allow five people to comfortably have a conversation without blocking it, so they went a little further, to an empty rest area at the end of the hall.</p>
<p>“What is with you people arguing in front of children?” Lucifer demanded right away. “You should understand by now that children are very sensitive to that.”</p>
<p>“Why does it matter?” Bruce answered. “She didn’t understand what we were saying anyway!”</p>
<p>“But she’s not stupid!” Lucifer countered. “She knows you were arguing about her. Why do you think she was crying?”</p>
<p>“Whiny little brat,” Caroline muttered under her breath. No one should have been able to hear her, but of course Lucifer did.</p>
<p>“How dare you say that, after what she’s been through?!” he hissed. “You should be ashamed of yourself! I bet the worst thing that happened to you in your life was a broken nail!”</p>
<p>Bruce and the doctor looked at him, not understanding the reason for Lucifer’s outburst. Chloe hadn’t heard Caroline’s words either, but she was used to these situations, and assumed he had heard something with his celestial hearing. Caroline blushed but didn’t reply.</p>
<p>“By the way, I’ve solved your dilemma. Amina wants to stay with me and the Detective.” He turned to Chloe. “If it’s okay with you, of course.”</p>
<p>Chloe looked at Lucifer, surprised. Of course, it was a good solution, even if it meant some adjustments at work. She never thought he would offer, though. To her knowledge, except for Trixie, he had never been fond of children. The care and attention he had demonstrated for Amina had been surprising, but heartwarming. </p>
<p>“Of course it’s okay with me, Lucifer, but what about you? It might take a week or even longer before she’s able to return home. Are you sure about this?”</p>
<p>“I’m bloody sure, and anyway, that’s what Amina wants, so problem solved.”</p>
<p>“No, it’s not!” Caroline replied. “She must stay at a licenced ORR-funded care provider. I’m the one who decided where she will be staying and the foster home has already been approved, anyway.“</p>
<p>“But that’s not what she wants!” Lucifer protested.</p>
<p>“A child who is illegally in the United States doesn't get to give input on where she wants to stay!”</p>
<p>“But it’s not her fault she’s here illegally! She was abducted!” Lucifer clenched his fists so hard that Chloe was afraid he would break his splints. Luckily, celestial materials were practically indestructible.</p>
<p>“And we will send her back home as soon as possible. Meanwhile, she will stay in the foster home I chose for her. Besides, do you really think I would let her stay with a man named after the Devil?”</p>
<p>“Why do people always associate ‘Lucifer’ with the Devil?” Lucifer huffed. “Do you know the real meaning of the name Lucifer?” Caroline shrugged her shoulders. “It means ‘light-bringing’ or ‘morning star’.”</p>
<p>Caroline laughed. “So, you’re telling me your first name and your last name mean the exact same thing? Either your parents were really religious weirdos, or you are insane because you picked something so dumb to be your stage name!</p>
<p>Lucifer was about to reply when the doctor intervened.</p>
<p>“You know what? Amina won’t go anywhere until <em>I</em> sign her leave papers. Mr Morningstar is right. The best option for her is to stay with him, but if it’s not possible, we can leave things as they are for a few more days.”</p>
<p>“If she’s good to go, the state won’t pay for extra time in the hospital, just because you don’t agree with me!” Caroline replied.</p>
<p>“I will pay for the extra charges, if there are any problems,” Lucifer said.</p>
<p>“Perfect!” the doctor answered. “Anyway, we’re still waiting for her final blood tests results, so she’s still officially under the state’s charge.”</p>
<p>“And you Brucy, do try to find Amina’s parents quickly,” Lucifer said, turning to Bruce. “If we speak to them, they could sign some papers to allow me and the Detective to take care of their daughter, until we’re able to send her home.”</p>
<p>“Yes they could,” Caroline replied, “but I still need to validate that it suits the girl’s needs.”</p>
<p>“As if you cared for her needs,” Lucifer scoffed. </p>
<p>Caroline glared at him. “It’s my job to make sure that–”</p>
<p>“Your job, yes.” Lucifer cut her. “That’s why you’re doing this. Not because you care. Only because it’s your job.”</p>
<p>Chloe gently squeezed Lucifer forearm and murmured low enough so no one else could understand, “Don’t push her. We still need her approval.” </p>
<p>Lucifer nodded subtly and gave her a tight smile in response.</p>
<p>“Well, I’ll go tell Amina that she will be staying here a little longer,” he said with a charming smile. “Meanwhile, Caroline, why don’t you come back to my place with me? You will be able to inspect it.”</p>
<p>Caroline looked at her phone. “I guess I have time. How long does it take to get there?”</p>
<p>“At this hour, about fifteen minutes,” he responded.</p>
<p>“Okay then. Give me the address. I will join you there,” she replied in an annoyed tone.</p>
<p>Caroline left as soon as she noted the address, without saying goodbye, without even looking up from her phone, the sound of her high heels clicking on the floor tiles receding after her.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Doctor,” Lucifer said once Caroline was out of sight. “I can tell Amina’s wellbeing is important to you.”</p>
<p>“I shouldn’t have interfered, but she’s been through enough already. There’s no need to send her to a place where no one will be able to understand her. Besides, you seem very attached to that girl and she seems to like you.”</p>
<p>“Well, I figure being the only one around who speaks her language helps with that.”</p>
<p>“No, it’s more than that,” the doctor insisted. “She seems genuinely happy to see you.”</p>
<p>Lucifer shrugged his shoulders. “I’m just trying to help.”</p>
<p>Chloe gave the doctor a knowing smile. Lucifer would never admit he was fond of a child, let alone the idea that one might return that fondness.</p>
<p>“We should go,” Chloe said, “or Caroline will get impatient.”</p>
<p>They exchanged farewells with the doctor and Lucifer went back to Amina’s room to inform her of what they had decided and to get Akuma back. Amina picked up the Stitch plush from where it lay beside her and cuddled it tightly with one hand, waving at Lucifer and Akuma with the other. </p>
<p>They went back to Chloe’s car, followed by Bruce, who had stayed silent for most of the conversation with the doctor.</p>
<p>“Can we stop to get something to eat first? We skipped lunch,” he complained, finally talking.</p>
<p>“You were the one who was eager to meet Amina,” Lucifer retorted, turning to face him. “It will have to wait after we meet <em>la presidenta de la gente molesta.”</em></p>
<p>“Who?” Bruce blurted.</p>
<p>“Caroline.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Caroline was waiting for them at Lux’s entrance.</p>
<p>“You live here?” she asked Lucifer coldly when the trio arrived.</p>
<p>“Well, not in the club, but my penthouse is in this building, yes.”</p>
<p>Lucifer opened the door to the club and invited everyone inside. They crossed the dance floor to reach the elevator. Lux was empty at this hour. Caroline stopped abruptly.</p>
<p>“No. It won’t work. The girl can't cross a nightclub each time she enters and exits. Forget about it, she will stay in foster care.”</p>
<p>“There’s another entrance in the garage, so Amina won’t have to cross the club, don’t worry.”</p>
<p>Chloe could tell by his demeanor that Lucifer was making a significant effort to remain calm and polite. The silence was awkward on the elevator ride to the penthouse. Caroline stepped out as soon as the doors opened. She glanced around and her eyes fell on the bar.</p>
<p>“And more alcohol. Do you really think I will let her stay with an alcoholic?”</p>
<p>“I’m bloody not!” Lucifer answered indignantly. “It’s to offer some choice to my friends when they come over. I’m a club owner, after all. I have a reputation to maintain. I can put all the bottles away if that’s what you need.”</p>
<p>“It won’t change the fact that you live over a nightclub.”</p>
<p>“I can close Lux while she’s here. I also have many other properties in LA, but honestly, I’d prefer to stay here. It’s closer to the precinct and there are no stairs here.”</p>
<p>“What about the stairs?”</p>
<p>Lucifer sighed. He would have preferred not to talk about it. “I’m an amputee and going down stairs can be tricky with prostheses, not counting the fact that I don’t wear them twenty-four hours a day.”</p>
<p>Caroline gave him a quizzical look and glanced toward his feet, but didn’t question him further. With his perfectly cut trousers, it was almost impossible to notice the prostheses.</p>
<p>“Do you, at least, have a room for her?” she asked, returning to their main subject.</p>
<p>“Of course! This way.”</p>
<p>He walked towards the room Robert had used for a few months. The physiotherapist had stayed at the penthouse after his rescue from Hell, with Lucifer unable to take care of himself at the time.</p>
<p>Caroline stopped in front of the master bedroom.</p>
<p>“Is this your room?” she asked, eying the deep red, sporty wheelchair beside the bed.</p>
<p>“Yes, why?”</p>
<p>“You don’t have a door?”</p>
<p>“I hate doors,” Lucifer replied, shrugging.</p>
<p>“So anyone can see what’s going on in your room without any warning? Really, this environment isn’t suitable for a child at all.”</p>
<p>“The Detective’s spawn has a room here too and she never saw anything she wasn’t supposed to. We are very careful about that. Besides, Amina’s legs are in casts, so I doubt she’ll be wandering around in the penthouse without help.”</p>
<p>“The detective’s spawn?” Caroline repeated.</p>
<p>“My daughter,” Chloe clarified. “She’s eleven and stays here when she’s not with her father, so more often than not.”</p>
<p>“Mmm,” Caroline nodded pensively.</p>
<p>She finally moved to follow Lucifer. The room he showed her was spacious, and clearly decorated with attention to detail, with a queen size bed in the middle. But Caroline didn’t pay attention to any of that.</p>
<p>“No door here, either. So, no privacy.”</p>
<p>“It’s the last room in the corridor. She will have all the privacy she needs,” Lucifer huffed in exasperation. He was trying really hard to stay calm, but the constant arguing about everything in the penthouse was grating on his nerves.</p>
<p>“Listen,” Chloe tried, seeing Lucifer was about to lose patience, “I know it’s not a regular house, but it’s only for a few days, a week at most. My daughter is really happy here and I’m sure Amina will be too. I’m a police officer. Do you think I would let my daughter stay in an unsafe environment?”</p>
<p>Bruce, who had been silent since their arrival, finally spoke.</p>
<p>“I think the place is fine,” he said, to Lucifer’s surprise. “Maybe not perfect, but good enough to have my approval. I don’t think I would stay in a room with no door myself, but for a child, it should be fine.”</p>
<p>“I don’t need your approval,” Caroline retorted.</p>
<p>Enough was enough. Lucifer couldn’t stand any more. He moved closer to Caroline, locking eyes with her.</p>
<p>“You don’t need anyone as far as I can see. Tell me Miss Williams, what is your deepest, most secret desire in life? Why don’t you trust anyone?”</p>
<p>“I– I want to stop being rejected.”</p>
<p>“Rejected? With your attitude, it’s no surprise you can’t keep any lovers!”</p>
<p>“No, I– I want to get a role. Even a small one. I’ve done dozens of auditions, but I have never been picked.”</p>
<p>“Oh! That!” Lucifer interjected, surprised.</p>
<p>Caroline shook herself out of the grasp of Lucifer’s mojo. Bruce looked at them, not understanding what had just happened.</p>
<p>“Well, I can pull a few strings for you!” Lucifer said jovially, his attitude changing in seconds. “I know many people in the industry!”</p>
<p>“Really?” Caroline asked defensively.</p>
<p>“Of course! Let’s make a deal!”</p>
<p>“A– a deal?”</p>
<p>“Yes!” he said with a wide smile. “You allow Amina to stay with me and the Detective, and I will talk about you to some of my friends in the industry. If you’re not too picky about the role, I’m sure I can get you something!”</p>
<p>“You could do that?”</p>
<p>“Absolutely! So, it’s a deal?”</p>
<p>“I– I don’t know. It’s against protocol.”</p>
<p>“I thought you were the one who made the decision…” Lucifer trailed off.</p>
<p>Chloe tried to hide her smile, happy to see Lucifer in full control. </p>
<p>“You’re not trying to fool me?” Caroline asked.</p>
<p>“I would never do that! My word is my bond!” Lucifer looked offended.</p>
<p>“I still need to run a background check on you. I need to demonstrate that everything follows the rules.”</p>
<p>“Of course! I would request that you do your research this afternoon though, my friends at the LAPD will expedite the process. There’s no need for Amina to stay in the hospital longer than needed.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I can do that. You will really talk about me to your friends?”</p>
<p>“I can make a first phone call right now, if you want.”</p>
<p>He pulled out his phone and quickly searched through his contacts, not waiting for her answer.</p>
<p>“Johnny! Lucifer Morningstar! How are you?” A brief silence. “Fine, fine. What project are you working on actually?” A longer silence. “Sounds great! Have you found all your actors yet? No? Wonderful! I have someone to recommend to you. Her name is Caroline Williams.”</p>
<p>The discussion continued for a few minutes and then Lucifer hung up, a large smile on his face.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow, you can go see John anytime. I will give you his contact information. He might have something perfect for you.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know what to say.” The look Caroline gave Lucifer was at the same time incredulous and hopeful. She seemed shocked that someone would do something like that for her. Especially a perfect stranger. </p>
<p>“Well, no need to thank me. We helped each other.” Lucifer answered with a shrug.</p>
<p>“I still have to–”</p>
<p>“I know, I know, but I’m not worried about that part.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer, Chloe and Bruce returned to the precinct, and Dan and Bruce left almost right away to go to Bruce’s hotel. Once again, Dan carried the huge suitcase.</p>
<p>Lucifer got some sandwiches for himself and Chloe from the vending machine. He was starving.</p>
<p>“Do you need me this afternoon?” he asked Chloe between two bites. “I would go with Mi to see if we can get Orupi out of Hell.”</p>
<p>“No. Until we find their parents or the Coast Guard finds the Dunlops’ boat, there’s nothing we can do.”</p>
<p>“Perfect. I will see you at the penthouse at dinner time then.” He finished his sandwich and threw the wrapping in the garbage can. </p>
<p>“Please, be careful.” Chloe said softly.</p>
<p>“Always, Detective.”</p>
<p>He kissed her on the forehead and wrapped his arms around her, one hand behind her head and the other on her back. She nested her head into his neck.</p>
<p>“I love you,” she whispered. “I think that what you’re doing for Amina and Orupi is awesome but I can't help but be worried when you go back there.”</p>
<p>“I can’t let him suffer unnecessarily. I need to fix that mistake.”</p>
<p>“I know.” She caressed his cheek, giving him a small smile.</p>
<p>“We’ll be careful. I promise.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>La presidenta de la gente molesta = the president of the annoyances. However, this sentence works better in French I think: La présidente des emmerdeuses</p>
<p>As always, I love to hear from you!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. I love you as you are</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much again for all your comments! I cherish each one from the bottom of my heart. </p>
<p><b>Warning for this chapter</b>: A pretty brutal scene of torture is described in the beginning of this chapter (fourth paragraph). The story already has a ‘graphic depiction of violence’ tag but just to make sure everyone stays alright.</p>
<p>My lovely betas for this chapter:  Feartheviolas, Humbiecat, Fox_2005 and LoveDevilKing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer and Michael landed in Hell and hurried to Orupi’s loop. The less time they spent in the corridors, the smaller the chance Lilith or a demon would notice them and try to interfere. Michael had brought his sword, but he hoped he wouldn't have to use it.</p>
<p>The dim light of Hell combined with the ashes constantly falling from the sunless sky like snow made the ambiance gloomy and Michael was happy to enter the boy’s loop. Until he saw what was inside.</p>
<p>The Hell loop was at its worst moment when they entered the room. Michael froze at the entrance. The basement was dimly lit and the ceiling was too low for them to stand straight; more a storage closet than a real room.</p>
<p>Michael looked at the man with his chainsaw, cutting the feet off the boy, blood splashing everywhere. Orupi’s screams filled the room while Amina was crying and shaking, covered with her brother’s blood. If anyone ever needed a perfect image of Hell, this would be it.</p>
<p>For a moment, Steve Dunlop seemed to hesitate. The boy was obviously losing more blood than he thought he would. Orupi lost consciousness and the loop abruptly stopped. When it resumed, Karen, Steve’s wife, was also in the room, a flat iron in hand. </p>
<p>The loop stopped again a few seconds later and then skipped forward to Karen shaking Orupi and helping him take some pills. The boy’s legs were wrapped up in blood stained bandages, but at least most of the bleeding seemed to have stopped.</p>
<p>Steve Dunlop climbed the stairs and left the room, his chainsaw in hand, still dripping blood, while his wife yelled something unintelligible at Amina. She left soon after her husband, and the twins were finally alone with the children. Well, the child. It was Orupi’s Hell loop. They didn’t have to worry about Amina here. She was only a projection from the boy’s tortured mind. </p>
<p>Michael suddenly felt sick. He turned around and emptied the contents of his stomach into a corner of the room. Even though he had seen the body on the street, being a first-hand witness to the torture of the boy was too much.</p>
<p>“How can you watch this without flinching?” he asked his twin, shaking. “Especially after what you’ve been through.”</p>
<p>“Well, even if the result is the same, you know that’s not how it happened to me. Besides, I’ve spent eons in this place and it’s not the worst I’ve seen.” He looked down. “That doesn’t mean it doesn't affect me, but I’m used to it. Besides, I know what to expect here because I’ve seen Orupi’s Hell loop hundreds of times before.”</p>
<p>Orupi’s cage had stayed unlocked. The Dunlops certainly didn’t think he was going to escape again in his state. The boy was barely conscious. The loop stopped for the third time.</p>
<p>When he woke up again, his loop continuing, Orupi promised Amina he would find help. The medication the woman gave him must have had some effect because despite everything, he made it out of his cage, crawling on his knees. His face showed traces of pain but, clenching his teeth, the boy started to climb the stairs. </p>
<p>Lucifer shook himself and stopped Orupi, taking the boy’s frail body in his arms and trying to comfort him. Before going to Hell, he had changed his clothes to an old suit he didn’t like much, knowing that it would be ruined afterwards.</p>
<p>Like in his first visit, Lucifer patiently explained to the boy why he was there and reassured him that his sister was safe. He was only repeating the same thing over and over, but there was not much more he could do. Only the boy could lessen his own guilt.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Chloe went back to the penthouse early. She was hoping to have some time to relax before preparing dinner. It was almost always Lucifer who cooked. Maybe she would have time to finish making dinner before he arrived. </p>
<p>When she went into their room to change into more casual clothes, she was surprised to find Lucifer and Michael asleep in their huge bed, wings out. Unlike when she had found them at Maze’s remembrance party, it was Lucifer who was at Michael's back, his glowing white wings covering his twin protectively. </p>
<p>She let them be, unwilling to wake them up. She was curious about what had happened that had caused them to feel the need to share their energy like that. She’d thought they would be gone for the whole afternoon. Did they come back earlier because they’d succeeded?</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Chloe was reading, sitting on the couch wrapped in a comforter, when Lucifer and Michael came out of the bedroom. Michael politely greeted her but didn’t stay, arguing that Ella was certainly waiting for him. He went to the balcony and left without any explanation on what had happened in Hell.</p>
<p>“Did you succeed?” Chloe asked Lucifer, who came back towards her.</p>
<p>“No, but Mi suggest that I speak with Doctor Linda about it. Maybe she will be able to give me some advice on how to proceed.”</p>
<p>“That’s a good idea.” A moment of silence passed. Chloe stood up and wrapped her arms around Lucifer’s waist. “You came back earlier than I expected.”</p>
<p>“Well, Mi was shaken by what he saw. He’s not used to Hell like I am, and Orupi’s loop is particularly rough. I needed a shower and he needed some comfort, so I brought him here. I hope you don’t mind.”</p>
<p>“Not at all. But you, how are you?”</p>
<p>“I’m fine. Sharing energies helped me refocus.”</p>
<p>“You were not as fine when you came back yesterday…”</p>
<p>“I knew what to expect this time. It’s still awful, but not as much, compared to the atrocities I’ve seen in Hell over eons.” He sighed. “It’s just… more personal than it used to be.”</p>
<p>Chloe rubbed Lucifer’s back in soothing circles.</p>
<p>“When do you plan to return?”</p>
<p>“As soon as possible. I must speak with Doctor Linda first, but I’d like to go back tomorrow. If you don’t mind, I will try to call her now,” Lucifer said.</p>
<p>“Perfect. I will start dinner in the meantime.”</p>
<p>Lucifer pulled out his phone, but before he could make his call, the device rang in his hand. He frowned, not recognizing the phone number. </p>
<p>“Lucifer Morningstar,” he answered.</p>
<p>“Mr Morningstar, it’s Caroline Williams. It’s only to tell you I finished the background check on you and everything came back clear. Your partner came back clear too. I will call the hospital to let them know they can let the girl stay with you. They should call you as soon as her release papers are signed.”</p>
<p>Amina, her name is Amina, Lucifer thought, but he said nothing. Her name wasn’t even hard to remember.</p>
<p>“Thank you dear. Don’t forget to call John tomorrow. He will be waiting for you.”</p>
<p>“I will. I just hope it will work this time.”</p>
<p>“I wish you the best of luck!”</p>
<p>Lucifer hung up and went to tell Chloe the good news.</p>
<p>“I don’t know if they will be able to have her release papers signed tonight,” Chloe said with a smile “but I’m happy it worked.”</p>
<p>“Yes, me too. Amina will be better here than at the hospital.”</p>
<p>“No doubt about it. I will look through Trixie’s clothes to see if I can find something that would suit Amina. We’re not going to bring her back here in the hospital gown.”</p>
<p>“Of course not.” He smiled. “I will go call Doctor Linda now.”</p>
<p>“It will be harder to go to Hell with Amina here though. You will have to take care of her. I still have to work, you know?”</p>
<p>“That’s not a problem. Mi and I can go during the night while she’s sleeping. You will still be here to check on her.”</p>
<p>“When will you sleep?”</p>
<p>“You know we don’t need as much sleep as you do. We will be fine.”</p>
<p>“And what will I do if Amina wakes up? I don’t speak her language.”</p>
<p>“We will try to go for short periods of time. If we stay just a few days at a time in Hell, it will only be minutes here.”</p>
<p>“Okay. It should be fine then.”</p>
<p>Lucifer went to make his phone call while Chloe returned to dinner’s preparation.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“Doctor Linda gave me some good advice,” Lucifer said while they were eating. “I can’t wait to see if it can help Orupi.”</p>
<p>They were sitting on the couch, their plate on their lap, simple hamburgers with fries but still delicious.</p>
<p>“Great! I really hope it works.”</p>
<p>“Me too. Do you think the hospital will call tonight? Because if not, maybe I will take the opportunity to return to Hell.”</p>
<p>“I highly doubt it. The doctor must have gone home by this hour and she won’t come back just to sign some papers. Amina will probably be discharged tomorrow morning.”</p>
<p>“Okay. I’ll call Mi after dinner then.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer came back from Hell late in the evening, still forced to leave Orupi back in Hell, but Lucifer was confident to have shown him the right path to forgiving himself. Linda had told him that it would take some time for his guilt to lessen, even with the right advice.</p>
<p>After a shower, Lucifer went directly to bed. It had been an exhausting day, not counting the two previous ones. He was lying on his back, stroking Akuma’s fur with his left hand, but he was clenching and unclenching his right hand nervously. Even though he always removed his prostheses to sleep, he still kept on his hand splints. Without them, he was unable to open his fingers and he didn’t like to feel helpless. Worse, once removed, he wasn’t able to put them back on alone.</p>
<p>Chloe settled beside him, cuddling against his side. She could feel he was tense, but only rubbed his upper arm and shoulder. Linda had told her months ago to never press him to talk when he was tense like that. He would open up if he needed it. Just being there for him was enough.</p>
<p>Long minutes passed before he spoke. Chloe didn’t expect what he said though.</p>
<p>“Is this how people see me?” he asked without looking at her.</p>
<p>“What are you talking about? See you how?”</p>
<p>“Disabled.”</p>
<p>Chloe sighed. He had heard Bruce. Of course he had. He didn’t talk about it all day, but he must have been thinking about it, to bring it up now.</p>
<p>“You’re not disabled. Never think that.”</p>
<p>“Well, without the prostheses and these,” he showed her his right hand, “I undoubtedly am.”</p>
<p>“I don’t see you as disabled. We don’t. All the people who really know you.”</p>
<p>“But to strangers I am. One look at my hands or feet and I’m categorized. Again.”</p>
<p>“Honey, don’t let what one douche said get to you.”</p>
<p>“Most of the time, I don’t feel disabled, but whatever I feel, I can’t deny I need some <em>add-ons</em> to be fully functional.”</p>
<p>“So what? It’s not worse than people who need glasses to read.”</p>
<p>“Angels don’t need glasses to read!” he huffed.</p>
<p>Chloe smiled. Most of the time now, he referred to himself as an angel, not the Devil.</p>
<p>“Well, you’re not <em>any</em> angel. Besides, those add-ons, as you said, don’t show your weakness, but your strength. You’ve been through so much and survived all that. Not a single being in the whole universe can say the same.”</p>
<p>He stayed silent for a moment, still clenching and unclenching his hand.</p>
<p>“I– I wish I had decided to have the extensors surgery. At least, for my right hand. Maybe they could have found enough tendons left… Now it’s too late though, since I’m invulnerable all the time.”</p>
<p>“Don’t have regrets about that. What’s done is done, and as you said then, you’re not even sure it would have worked. Imagine getting through the first step, only to find out you did all that for nothing.”</p>
<p>“I know,” he sighed. “You’re right, of course. It’s just…” He sighed again. “Forget I even mentioned it. There’s nothing we can do anyway.”</p>
<p>Another moment of silence passed.</p>
<p>“Do you know that I am, and will always be, the only being with prostheses or splints in the Silver City?” Lucifer said, looking at the ceiling.</p>
<p>“What? But how is that–”</p>
<p>“Possible?” he cut her off, turning to face her. “Because once in Heaven, everyone becomes perfect in my Father’s eyes. There’s no amputee, people with hearing or sight disabilities, sickness or even just ugliness. They all appear young, beautiful and healthy.</p>
<p>“Wait! God is changing people once in Heaven?”</p>
<p>“Well, not Him directly but the Silver City does.”</p>
<p>“But that’s awful!”</p>
<p>Lucifer frowned. “Why? I thought that’s what everyone ever wanted, to be perfect, no?”</p>
<p>“No! I mean of course, for someone who ever wanted to have a top model’s body it’s good, but it’s not everyone who wants that!”</p>
<p>“No?”</p>
<p>“Of course not! And what about someone deaf at birth? I’m not so sure he or she would want so much to hear. It might be overwhelming for someone who never heard a sound in his life!”</p>
<p>“But they can’t hear music!”</p>
<p>“So what? Maybe feeling the vibrations is enough for them? Why couldn’t they be happy being deaf?”</p>
<p>Lucifer remained silent, staring at her blankly.</p>
<p>“And how can people recognize their friends and families once there if they don’t look the same?” she continued. “This whole thing is absurd!”</p>
<p>“Souls can recognize each other, Detective. They don’t only rely on the physical appearance.”</p>
<p>“One more reason to keep them the way they were. Or at least give them the choice. You’ve been banished from Heaven for wanting Free Will and you’re telling me that you think it’s fine that once they earned the eternal peace, that is taken from them?!”</p>
<p>“It’s not–” He stalled, sudden realization sinking in. “I–” He stopped again and let out a bitter laugh. “The whole system is really screwed up! Not only Hell! Heaven too!”</p>
<p>“It’s not all bad,” Chloe tried to temper her voice. “That Orupi has his feet back once there is fine, even great, and I’m sure someone who died from cancer will be happy to be healed, but you can’t just remove all disabilities on the pretext of perfection. Perfection doesn't make people happier, Lucifer!”</p>
<p>“But it helps!”</p>
<p>“Really? So, you tell me you would be happier with feet or no hand splints?”</p>
<p>“It won’t happen. It’s different for me since it’s not only my soul but my celestial body that travels from one plane to another. I can’t change more than what self-actualization allows. And that doesn’t include regrowing tendons or feet as you know.”</p>
<p>Chloe could hear some bitterness in his observation.</p>
<p>“That’s not what I meant, Lucifer. With your eidetic memory, how could you forget what happened to you? Having your feet back wouldn’t erase it. Would it be better to be perfect on the outside, with nothing to prove what you’ve been through? With nothing to explain why you need Akuma? Would you really be happier?”</p>
<p>“I– I don’t know.” He turned on his back, looking at the ceiling, like if he was searching for an answer. He seemed utterly lost.</p>
<p>“I love you as you are,” Chloe added softly. “I like your stumps and I don’t mind the splints. They are part of who you are now and I love this new you. You have become such a great man!”</p>
<p>“I’m not a man!” Lucifer huffed.</p>
<p>“Man, angel, Devil, whatever. Do you think I would have fallen in love with the Devil if I wanted an ordinary relationship?” Chloe asked. She was lying on her back too, looking to the ceiling, to the same spot he was. It was a way for her to be closer to him, to show him, by her closeness that she was in harmony with him.</p>
<p>He let out a small laugh. “We’ll see about that after a few millennia.”</p>
<p>“I won’t change my mind. I can’t fathom what millennia will look like, but I don’t see how I could ever be bored of you. And who cares if you’re the only amputee in Heaven? You told me you were the only angel with white wings. And that you never thought like any other angel did. You have always been unique anyway.”</p>
<p>Lucifer turned to face her and wrapped his arms around her warm body.</p>
<p>“What would I do without you? You always know what to say to make me feel better.” He gently brushed her cheek with his hand. “I love you Chloe Jane Decker.”</p>
<p>“I love you too Lucifer Morningstar.”</p>
<p>Lucifer unfurled his wings, wrapping them in a white cocoon. Soon after, they were both asleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, I love to hear from you! I hope you enjoy this story as much as I like to write it! Happy Valentine Day everyone!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Mother hen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here we go for another chapter! Thank you so much everyone for reading this story and the lovely comments you take time to write! You are my sunshine!</p>
<p>My wonderful betas for this chapter: Humbiecat, Fox_2005 and LoveDevilKing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer and Chloe waited at the precinct for Bruce to arrive, after receiving the phone call from the hospital. Amina was ready to go. Bruce arrived dressed in the same cheap suit as  the previous day but with a different Hawaiian shirt.</p>
<p>“If it’s not the lord of the 8th deadly sin!” Lucifer exclaimed with a grin.</p>
<p>Bruce frowned.</p>
<p>“I won’t be at the precinct today,” Lucifer added without letting Bruce answer. “If you need me for translating, just call.”</p>
<p>“I worked from the hotel yesterday afternoon and I found one of her uncles living in Yap who speaks English. He will try to contact her parents but the island where they live has no internet connection or even a landline phone so it might take some time. I don’t think I will need any translator today. Maybe even not at all if the uncle can stay around.”</p>
<p>“Great! You’re more effective than you appear, Brucy!” Lucifer gave him a pat on the shoulder and turned around to join Chloe who was waiting near the elevator. </p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Amina was happy to see Lucifer, Chloe and Akuma. When Lucifer announced that she was going to stay with them, the girl was ecstatic.</p>
<p>“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she said excitedly.</p>
<p>“Well, that’s what you asked for, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>“Yes! But I’m so glad it’s really happening!”</p>
<p>“I will write down all the information you, or her parents eventually, need to know,” the doctor said. “I will also give you instructions on the proper care for her cuts.”</p>
<p>“Thank you doctor,” Chloe answered. “We’ll take great care of her.”</p>
<p>“I have no doubts about it!”</p>
<p>Chloe took out a long sleeved shirt and a skirt from the bag she brought. She had  chosen a skirt instead of pants because it would be easier with the casts. She also had a jean jacket. Even if it was seventy-five degrees outside, it was probably colder than the temperature she was used to in Micronesia. </p>
<p>As soon as Chloe lowered the railguard, Akuma jumped on the bed, lying beside Amina. Lucifer smiled when he saw the girl stroke his fur. It seemed that the dog knew who needed the most help in the room and Lucifer was fine at the moment. He turned around while Chloe and the doctor helped Amina get dressed. The clothes were slightly too large but not more than the extra size Chloe usually bought for Trixie’s clothes knowing she was still growing.</p>
<p>Amina said something while looking at herself.</p>
<p>“What did she say?” Chloe asked.</p>
<p>“It’s pretty.” Lucifer translated without turning back.</p>
<p>“Tell her I will give it to her. Trixie doesn’t wear skirts much anyway and this shirt is a little tight for her now.”</p>
<p>Lucifer told Amina and she thanked Chloe with a huge smile.</p>
<p>“By the way, you can turn around, now. She’s fully dressed,” Chloe added.</p>
<p>Lucifer turned on his heels and went closer to the bed. </p>
<p>“That’s true that you’re pretty.” Lucifer told Amina. “Are you ready to leave now?”</p>
<p>The girl grabbed the Stitch plush and nodded.</p>
<p>The doctor went to get the wheelchair that she left near the entrance and bring it closer to the bed. Akuma jumped from the bed and waited beside the wheelchair.</p>
<p>“She won’t need it,” Lucifer said. “I can carry her without a problem.”</p>
<p>“It’s the protocol,” the doctor answered. “She must leave in a wheelchair.”</p>
<p>“Bloody rules!” Lucifer huffed, but he gently took Amina in his arms and sat her in. “Those are bloody uncomfortable!”</p>
<p>Even though he hadn't used this kind of wheelchair much, it was enough to know it was like sitting on a fastfood restaurant chair.</p>
<p>“It’s just to bring her to the car,” Chloe said.</p>
<p>“I know, I know.”</p>
<p>Amina looked so small in the big chair, grabbing the giant  plush tightly. It was her only possession. Lucifer pushed her toward the exit. As they were waiting just outside the entrance for Chloe to come back with her car, Lucifer noticed Amina was shivering.</p>
<p>“Are you cold?” he asked her.</p>
<p>“A little but it’s okay,” she answered.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, Lucifer removed his suit jacket and put it on Amina’s shoulders.</p>
<p>“But you will be cold!” Amina protested.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry for me. I’m fine.”</p>
<p>Chloe parked in the landing and Lucifer opened the rear door of the cruiser. Akuma jumped in the car and settled in the farthest seat while Lucifer carefully installed Amina on the closest. He closed the door and went back inside the hospital to leave the wheelchair there. He would certainly not bring that uncomfortable thing home. Amina would use his if necessary. Even if she didn’t need them anymore, Lucifer wouldn’t be able to remove Amina’s casts as long as Bruce was  around.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“Are you sure you will be alright?” Chloe asked as she left them at the penthouse. He had taken care of Trixie a few times alone, but it was usually only for a few hours and was limited to watching movies.</p>
<p>“Of course I will! I’m not so incompetent!”</p>
<p>Chloe laughed. “I know Lucifer! It’s just that you won’t be able to watch movies all day long since she doesn’t understand English. You will have to be… creative!”</p>
<p>“I bloody am! Rest assured we will be fine.”</p>
<p>“Great! If it’s okay with you, I will ask Dan if Trix can come with us one day earlier. Even if they won’t be able to talk, it might be reassuring for Amina to have someone her age around.”</p>
<p>“That’s a wonderful idea!”</p>
<p>“Perfect! Have a good day, Lucifer!”</p>
<p>“Have a good day, Detective.”</p>
<p>Chloe waved at Amina and the girl waved back with a smile. Lucifer had settled her on his Italian couch, wrapped in a comforter. He already explained Chloe had to work to help find the people who abducted her and her brother and that she would spend the day only with him.</p>
<p>As soon as Lucifer removed his service dog’s vest, Akuma lay beside Amina who was cuddling the Stitch plush. </p>
<p>“So, let's see what we can do today.” Lucifer said.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The ambiance at the precinct was different when Lucifer was not around. Chloe couldn’t help but think of the last time it happened. When he went back to Hell and the few months that followed his return. At first, she thought she’d never see him again. When he returned, she thought Hell had broken him forever.</p>
<p>Hopefully, she had been wrong in both cases. He was still struggling with some aftermath of the torture he suffered but for most of it, he was doing fine. She thought about the discussion they had in bed last night. He never talked about his hands or feet but being called ‘disabled’ had obviously affected him. If God removed all disabilities once souls were in Heaven, it was no surprise Lucifer thought happiness goes along with perfection. She would need to have  a word to Linda about it. </p>
<p>Thankfully, she had a lot of paperworks to do to close other cases she had worked on and she kept herself busy all day. Beside that, their actual case was at a dead point. They already knew who the killers were and just needed to find them. They already had all the evidence they needed to charge them. </p>
<p>Bruce was still working to find Amina’s parents and get papers prepared to send her back home. Orupi’s corpse had to be sent back as well and that required some papers signed for it.  He had sent  Amina’s uncle all the papers her parents needed to sign so he could print them and bring them to the island where they lived. </p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>As the elevator doors opened, a crystalline laugh filled the space. Before Chloe or Trixie could get out, Akuma ran in front of them, followed by Amina in Lucifer’s wheelchair. Amina laughed as the dog caught the rubber toy she threw and went back to her, teasing her to take back the toy. Lucifer was sitting on the piano bench, watching them play, a large grin on his face.</p>
<p>“I see you guys are having fun!” Chloe said with a smile, finally stepping out of the elevator. Trixie followed her mother, slightly shy in front of Amina. She knew the girl didn’t speak English and she just didn’t know what to say.</p>
<p>Lucifer made the introductions, both in English and Satawalese, and the two girls shook hands. It was hard to compare their height since Amina was sitting but she looked so thin compared to Trixie. </p>
<p>“So, what did you do today?” Chloe asked, curious.</p>
<p>“A lot of things!” Lucifer answered. “We watched Stitch and Moana, I taught her ‘Heart and Soul’ on the piano, she helped me cook and we even made a cake! You would be surprised how skillful she is at  cooking!”</p>
<p>“A chocolate cake?!” Trixie asked excitedly.</p>
<p>“Of course, Urchin!”</p>
<p>“So, you watched movies? In English?” Chloe asked.</p>
<p>“I translated for her! Your spawn watched those bloody things so often, I know them by heart!”</p>
<p>“Why Moana?” Trixie asked. “You should have watched Frozen! Olaf is so funny!”</p>
<p>“Moana is closer to what she knows and Frozen is almost impossible to translate in her language. There’s not even a word for ‘snow’!”</p>
<p>“How is that possible?” Trixie wondered aloud.</p>
<p>“Well, there’s no snow in Micronesia so why bother with a word you’ll never use?”</p>
<p>“Not every word exists in all languages?” Trixie asked, skeptical.</p>
<p>“Of course not! It depends on your surroundings! If there’s no word for snow in Satawalese, Icelandic has forty-six and about the same number for Inuit and Yupik. Sami and Scots have even more. Scots claim to have 421 words related to snow.” </p>
<p>“That’s impossible!” Trixie answered, crossing her arms in front of her.</p>
<p>“I never counted to be honest, but they include in their list all sorts of things you can do with snow. The real number is not so important, though. What is is that each language reflects the people, culture and surrounding of those who speaks it.”</p>
<p>“That’s interesting. I never paid attention to that.”</p>
<p>“You need to speak a few different languages to realize that.”</p>
<p>While they were speaking, Amina had started back playing with Akuma. Trixie joined her.</p>
<p>“By the way, Miss Williams came for a visit earlier.” Lucifer told Chloe.</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“She wanted to make sure everything was fine and to thank me for the reference. She met John this morning and it seemed to go well.”</p>
<p>“Great! Even if I don’t like her much, I’m happy for her.”</p>
<p>“She was in a better mood today. Said she wouldn’t bother me again. She was baffled that I was teaching Amina piano when she arrived.”</p>
<p>“It’s because she doesn't know you.” She cupped his cheek with her hand and bent to give him a small kiss. “You’re the best piano teacher.”</p>
<p>“Well, ‘Heart and Soul’ is not so hard.” He stood up. “I will put the lasagna in the oven if you don’t mind.”</p>
<p>“Trixie will be happy.”</p>
<p>“Amina never tasted lasagna so I thought it could be a good idea knowing how much your spawn likes that.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Amina loved the lasagna. Both girls emptied their plate quickly and asked for more. </p>
<p>“Don’t forget to keep some space for the cake!” Lucifer said.</p>
<p>“I always have space for chocolate cake!” Trixie retorted.</p>
<p>Noticing Amina's quizzical look, Lucifer translated for her. Even if she had never tasted chocolate cake before, she smiled and nodded at Trixie. Sitting side-by-side, Trixie and Amina looked like two friends sharing secrets. </p>
<p>Earlier, after her initial shyness faded, Trixie had pulled out her phone while they were waiting for the lasagna to be ready. Amina had been really puzzled by the device. She  had seen Chloe record with it, but she was totally amazed by the videos and games Trixie showed her. The phone had been put away for dinner, but the time the two girls shared together was enough to build a connection.</p>
<p>After dinner, Trixie had some homework to do and Chloe proposed to give Amina a shower. Lucifer wrapped her casts in large plastic bags and sat her on the bench in the shower before returning to the living room to help Trixie. Trixie loved when Lucifer helped her. He made homeworks so interesting!</p>
<p>The evening ended in a concert, the three girls sitting on the couch while Lucifer played  random songs. When Amina began to doze, fighting to stay awake, Lucifer took her to her room and tucked her in the large bed. Amina cuddled the Stitch plush.</p>
<p>“I will leave the wheelchair beside the bed. This way, you will be able to go to the bathroom if you need.”</p>
<p>Amina nodded, already half asleep. Lucifer, wished her goodnight, made sure the nightlight was on and left the room.</p>
<p>Lucifer didn’t want to talk of Hell in front of Trixie so he waited until she too was in bed before he kissed Chloe on the cheek and left for the Underworld. He took the opportunity to pluck out a few feathers to be able to heal Amina’s cut at his return. He would make sure the girl was deeply asleep this time. As promised, he was back less than fifteen minutes later, full of hope.</p>
<p>“Orupi’s guilt started to lessen. One or two more days and I might be able to get him out of there.”</p>
<p>“I’m glad Linda’s advice is working. She’s so good!”</p>
<p>“Indeed! Look what she made of me!”</p>
<p>Chloe laughed, but it was true. Without Linda's help, Lucifer wouldn’t be where he was.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Screams woke them from their slumber. The nurse and the doctor had warned them that Amina had nightmares. Half asleep, Lucifer went to jump in his wheelchair, forgetting he’d left it beside Amina. A loud thud and a “Bloody Hell!” followed.</p>
<p>Chloe turned on the lamp on the nightstand and peered over the bed to see Lucifer sitting on the floor, an indignant look on his face. To add insult to injury, Akuma jumped out of bed and licked him on the face. Chloe couldn’t help herself and started laughing.</p>
<p>“Very funny!” he grumbled. “Instead of making fun of me, maybe you can try to comfort Amina or at least bring me my wheelchair.”</p>
<p>“I’ll be right back.” she said, trying to stop laughing. Akuma followed her.</p>
<p>When Chloe arrived in Amina’s room though, Trixie was sitting beside her, holding her in a comforting gesture. Amina’s was already calmer.</p>
<p>“Can I sleep with her?” Trixie asked. “Maybe she’ll be less afraid if she’s not alone.”</p>
<p>“That’s a good idea, Monkey.”</p>
<p>Seeing the girl didn’t need him, Akuma returned to his master. Chloe watched Trixie settle in Amina’s back while the latter was curled on her side, holding Stitch tightly. Her breathing was still a little fast but her eyes were closed, ready to try to sleep.</p>
<p>Lucifer was sitting on the side of the bed when Chloe returned to their room.</p>
<p>“You didn’t bring my wheelchair?”</p>
<p>“Everything is fine. Trix will stay with her. You can return back to sleep.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure she doesn't need me?”</p>
<p>“One hundred percent. Stop acting like a helicopter dad! Everything is okay!”</p>
<p>“I’m bloody not!”</p>
<p>“Oh yes you are, mother hen!”</p>
<p>“I just want to make sure she’s fine!”</p>
<p>“And she is. Go back to sleep, now.”</p>
<p>Lucifer grumbled a little but finally laid down. Chloe kissed him and cuddled on his side, putting an arm across his chest. While Chloe went back to sleep quickly, Lucifer remained awake for a long time, listening to all sounds in the penthouse.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The next morning, Lucifer sat  Amina in the Corvette for a tour of the city which left the girl in awe. Even when he kept his tour child-friendly, there was still a lot of things to say, passing all these high buildings, by far higher than the largest trees on her island. Following his descriptions and stories, her eyes got wider and wider and she asked him if the City of Angeles was called that because a lot of angels stayed there.</p>
<p>Lucifer laughed. “No, but I came here because of the name.”</p>
<p>They were watching a movie when Chloe called in the middle of the afternoon. Bruce had found Amina’s parents. Well, the uncle did but the result was the same, Amina was going to be able to speak to them.</p>
<p>“Can you come as soon as possible?” Chloe asked. “I know with the traffic and everything it can take some time but do the best you can. They could  lose the satellite connection at any time.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, I will. I certainly don’t want her to miss this opportunity.”</p>
<p>Lucifer found a thick coat in Trixie’s clothing and asked Amina to put it on. He then buckled the wheelchair's seatbelt and went to the balcony with her.</p>
<p>“I need you to close your eyes very tightly and don’t open them until I tell you, okay?”</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“Because we’re going for  a little ride and I don’t want you to be afraid.”</p>
<p>“We’re gonna fly?” she asked excitedly.</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“But I’m not afraid of height! I love to climb in trees!”</p>
<p>“Well, we’ll be much higher than trees and we’ll fly very fast. Besides, maybe it’s better if you don’t see my wings. Some humans tend to… well, go crazy at the sight of them.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure I won’t, but I will do as you ask.”</p>
<p>Lucifer didn’t tell her she was going to talk to her parents, just  in case they lost the satellite connection and couldn’t make the call. Five minutes after Chloe’s phone call, Lucifer appeared in the underground parking of the precinct. He put the wheelchair on the pavement and made sure Amina was fine before pushing her towards the elevator.</p>
<p>“That was fun!” the little girl said, a large smile on her face, which got bigger, when Lucifer bowed down to her and told her with a conspiratorial whisper not to tell anybody.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Chloe watched Lucifer and Amina enter the precinct, a concerned look on her face.</p>
<p>“You didn’t–”</p>
<p>“Didn’t you ask that I come as fast as possible?”</p>
<p>“Yes, but that didn’t mean–” Chloe looked around, at the other officers in the bullpen. ”–flight.” she whispered.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, she’s fine. She was even excited about it and she already knew so…” He shrugged and smiled at Amina who returned his smile. “I asked her to keep her eyes shut so she didn’t see... well, you know what.”</p>
<p>Amina was frightened, looking at all the people around her. They had already decided to go into Ella's lab to make the phone call so it would be more private.</p>
<p>Lucifer introduced Amina to Dan, Ella and Michael. She had already seen Dan at the house but had never met  him. Amina stared at Michael and glared back at Lucifer.</p>
<p>“Are you all identical?” she asked. “The angels,” she added in a whisper even if no precision was necessary.</p>
<p>“No. Only me and my twin,” Lucifer answered with a smile. He was glad Bruce couldn’t understand their conversation.</p>
<p>Bruce called Amina’ uncle back and soon, Amina was able to speak with her parents. If the other people in the room couldn’t understand what Amina was saying, Lucifer could not only understand her but also hear her parents with his celestial hearing. All three were crying with  relief. Yes, they had lost their son but they thought both children had drowned when they found their empty boat. </p>
<p>When her mother asked about her injuries, Amina spontaneously answered that everything was fine because Lucifer healed her. They then asked who Lucifer was and Amina hesitated for a second.</p>
<p>“Can I tell my parents that you’re an angel?” she asked Lucifer, putting the phone on her thigh so they couldn’t hear her.</p>
<p>“I guess there’s no need to hide it.” Lucifer answered. He knew that there was a great chance that they wouldn’t believe her. It was hard to know what they really thought of it, but Lucifer certainly didn’t expect the “Great!” they answered in response to her revelation. </p>
<p>A few minutes later, he was surprised again when he heard Amina’s parents say that they were going to throw a huge party once she came home in celebration of  her eleventh birthday. It was apparently nine days ago.</p>
<p>Lucifer didn’t tell her he had heard, but the cogs were already turning in his head, trying to figure out what kind of birthday party he would give her and what gift she might like. Tomorrow was Saturday. He could even invite all his friends to celebrate. Yes, he would do something special for her.</p>
<p>

</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you once again for reading! I hope you like this chapter! </p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you want to know more about the words for ‘snow’: <a href="https://k-international.com/blog/which-language-has-the-most-words-for-snow/">https://k-international.com/blog/which-language-has-the-most-words-for-snow/</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. An open fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again everyone! I hope you are all well. Just to let you know, I have 17 chapters written so far (but not betaed) and I don't think the story will have more than 20. Thanks to keep following me in this crazy adventure!</p>
<p>Thanks again to my betas: Humbiecat, Fox_2005 and LoveDevilKing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everyone was sound asleep when Lucifer left for Hell. Even if Chloe went to bed late, Lucifer’s brain was in ebullition with the prospect of throwing a birthday party for Amina and he stayed awake until Michael was ready to leave.</p>
<p>Lucifer immediately noticed the difference in Orupi’s loop. In fact, there was no loop anymore. Orupi was sitting in the middle of the room he had been tortured in, but it was empty. No more cages, no more captors, no more Amina and most important of all, no more wounds on his body. He was alone and obviously confused. He looked up when Lucifer and Michael arrived.</p>
<p>“Where am I? Who are you?” he asked in a trembling voice.</p>
<p>“You’re in Hell and I’m the Devil.” Lucifer answered, putting one knee to the ground so his head wouldn’t be bent against the low ceiling.</p>
<p>“I– I don’t understand.”</p>
<p>“You are in a place you’re not supposed to be and my name is Lucifer Morningstar.”</p>
<p>“Morning… you’re the Morning Star?”</p>
<p>Lucifer remembered it was also the name Amina gave in place of the Devil.</p>
<p>“Well, I suppose I am. Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help get you out of this place.”</p>
<p>“Why am I here?”</p>
<p>“Don’t you remember?” Lucifer asked, surprised. It never happened before that someone got rid of his guilt and got out of Hell. He didn’t know what to expect.</p>
<p>The boy frowned, seemingly searching to remember.</p>
<p>“Amina! Where’s Amina?” he asked suddenly.</p>
<p>“She’s fine.” Lucifer answered. “Because you escaped, we’ve been able to find her. She will be back home soon. You saved her.”</p>
<p>“I– I saved her? I really did?” the boy said, his voice full of hope.</p>
<p>“Yes and now it’s time for you to go where you belong.” Lucifer stretched his hand. “Come with me.”</p>
<p>Orupi hesitantly took Lucifer’s hand.</p>
<p>“Where are we going?” he asked.</p>
<p>“Heaven.”</p>
<p>Lucifer stood up and Michael opened the door of the loop. However, a welcoming committee was waiting for them on the other side.</p>
<p>“Hello, Little Angel.”</p>
<p>The twins didn’t expect to see two demons rush in the Hell loop, followed by Lilith, sitting in a small chariot. Neither of them had time to react. One of the demons threw himself on Lucifer’s chest while the other bent and grabbed one of his feet and pulled. Lucifer lost his balance and fell hard on his back.</p>
<p>“Protect Orupi!” he shouted to Michael. “It’s not the time to lose him now!” </p>
<p>Lucifer pushed the demon on his chest so hard that he went flying. The other demon grabbed one of his prosthetics attempting to pull it off. Lucifer kicked the demon with his other foot to dislodge him.</p>
<p>“I won’t leave you!” Michael answered, pulling out his blade from its sheath, divided between his desire to help his brother and protect Orupi. He ordered the boy to run to the other side of the room, away from the action. </p>
<p>“I’m fine!” Lucifer roared, but the moment he managed to make the demon lose his grip, Lilith wrapped her long fingers around his right wrist. She muttered two words in Lilim and a sudden burning sensation stroked Lucifer.</p>
<p>“Let’s see if you’ll be fine, now!” Lilith proclaimed and she started laughing. She loosened her grip and rolled her chariot backwards. A demon behind her grabbed the chariot handles and pulled it out of the room, running away down Hell’s corridors, Lilith’s laugh echoing against the walls. Michael killed the demon at Lucifer’s feet and he turned around to cut in half the one still laying immobile beside the wall. </p>
<p>Michael moved to go after Lilith until he noticed Lucifer’s empty gaze. After making sure no other demon was in the corridor, Michael kneeled beside Lucifer.</p>
<p>“Sammy, are you okay?”</p>
<p>But Lucifer had no reaction. Made no sign he heard his brother. He was lying on his back, his eyes open, but he was staring blankly at the ceiling, breathing shallow and fast. </p>
<p>Checking for injuries, Michael noticed smoke and small flames coming out from Lucifer’s right sleeve. <em>What in the name of Father?</em></p>
<p>With the tip of his blade, he carefully cut the suit’s sleeve around the elbow and pulled it off. His shirt’s sleeve was literally on fire! He cut it off too and removed all fabric remnants on Lucifer’s forearm.</p>
<p>The branding was on fire. Deep in Lucifer’s flesh, inside the dark letters of the bonding, Michael could see flames like it was coming out from the inside of his arm. Hopefully, Lucifer was now fully invulnerable so it wouldn’t burn his skin but what about the rest? How was this fire burning in the first place? Hell magic? Michael knew nothing about it. </p>
<p>He tried again to shake his brother out of his trance but he was totally unresponsive. Michael looked around, trying to find something that could help him but the loop was empty. Orupi was standing at the other side of the room, a terrorized look on his face.</p>
<p><em>Okay</em>, Michael thought, <em>I need to get them both out of here.</em></p>
<p>He took Lucifer under the arms to pull him out of the room, gesturing toward Orupi to follow him. He couldn’t do anything in this low ceiling room and anyway, it was impossible to get out of Hell directly from a loop.</p>
<p>Once out, Michael took Lucifer in his arms and unfurled his wings. The boy looked startled but thankfully, he didn’t freak out. Michael put Lucifer's head down over his shoulder. His face was in his wing’s feathers but it shouldn’t prevent him from flying.</p>
<p>“You need to hold onto me.” Michael told Orupi, but the boy frowned and shrugged his shoulders.</p>
<p>Remembering Orupi wasn’t speaking English, Michael bent and took the boy’s arms to put them around his neck. He then touched his legs and gestured to ask the boy to circle his waist.</p>
<p>Holding Orupi with one arm, his twin with the other, Michael flew away awkwardly toward the Silver City.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The moment he felt the burning sensation Lucifer's mind had returned far into the past. To almost the beginning of his imprisonment in Hell. To the exact moment the demons marked his flesh with this horrible branding and forged the bonding that linked his soul to them. That made him their property. Their slave.</p>
<p>His eidetic memory kicking in, Lucifer relived every moment the bonding had forced him to obey. Beginning with unfurling his wings so the demons could pluck out all the feathers. So they could cut slices in them and force him to eat his own flesh. So they could break all the bones and tear all the tendons. So they could cut them off and watch them grow back the next day.</p>
<p>The exterior world didn't exist anymore. Only his memories. Lucifer was trapped inside his own mind, reliving once again his torture.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Michael landed heavily in front of the Gates of the Silver City and put Orupi on the ground. The boy looked around, amazed. They were on a grassy field, and the long grass billowed in the soft breeze. In front of them, a wall of light could be seen as far as the gaze could carry on either side. The light was soft, soothing, and the only thing the boy wanted at the moment was to get closer. In the middle of the wall of light, the Gates, a pure white light existed  where a normal gate  would have been made of steel. As Michael approached, the Gates opened, letting them inside.</p>
<p>Usually, when Azrael bought a soul here, she made sure that some family members or friends were waiting for the newcomer, but Orupi didn’t follow the regular procedure. Michael beckoned the boy to follow him.</p>
<p>Michael went right to the infirmary and laid Lucifer in one of the beds.</p>
<p>“What happened?!” Raphael asked, getting closer. She noticed the fire on his brother’s forearm. “What is this?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know!” Michael answered, almost panicked. “We were in Hell to get Orupi out–” He gestured towards the boy, who had stayed at the entrance of the room. “–and Lilith came in the loop, but I don’t know exactly what she did to him.”</p>
<p>“Lucifer, do you hear me?” Raphael asked, shaking him.</p>
<p>“I tried to get him out of this trance but to no avail. I think he’s having a dissociative episode but it’s far worse than anything I saw until now.”</p>
<p>“Okay. Let’s fix this burning first. Maybe he’ll come around when it stops.” She shook her head. “Can’t he just be at peace for once? Why does he always have to suffer?”</p>
<p>“It’s my fault,” Michael said sadly. “I was supposed to protect him but have been unable to.”</p>
<p>“Don’t blame yourself, brother. Lucifer knew there was a risk to return to Hell. Since when did he care for a single soul in the first place?”</p>
<p>“Since this soul was the victim of the case we’re working on and ended up in Hell for misplaced guilt.”</p>
<p>“I can’t believe how much he's changed. He would never have cared for anyone except himself in the past.”</p>
<p>“You’re right. I just wished this change hadn’t made him suffer so much in the process.”</p>
<p>“Is it my fault that the Morning Star has been hurt?” Orupi asked suddenly in a small voice.</p>
<p>Michael and Raphael turned to look at the boy. Of course once in the Silver City he could  now understand them. One of the privileges of the place.</p>
<p>“The Morning Star?” Raphael parroted.</p>
<p>“No, it’s not, Orupi.” Michael answered at the same time. ”It’s Lilith’s fault, not yours.” Turning back towards his sister he added, “Yes, that’s how he called Lucifer down there.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean by the Morning Star?” Raphael asked.</p>
<p>“It’s the name we give to the angel who punish bad people. The greatest of all angels.” Seeing their surprised look he quickly added, “Sorry! I didn’t want to say that you’re not! Of course all angels are great but the Morning Star is… special.”</p>
<p>“What about the Devil?” Raphael was curious to know more about this whole Morning Star thing. </p>
<p>“Is the Devil another word for the Morning Star? He said he was the Devil but I never heard this word before.”</p>
<p>“The Devil is the angel who rules Hell and punishes bad people, so yes, I figure we’re talking about the same one.” Raphael glanced at Lucifer, still immobile on the bed. “I wish he could have heard you. People usually have such a bad image of him.”</p>
<p>“Why?” the boy asked.</p>
<p>“Because they think he’s evil.”</p>
<p>“He can’t be evil if he punishes evil!” Orupi claimed, indignant. “Bad people have to be punished! That doesn’t make him bad!”</p>
<p>Michael put a hand on Orupi’s shoulder. “You’re right. He’s not bad. Now I think it’s time to lead you to where you belong. There are surely some people who are waiting for you.”</p>
<p>Michael left the room with Orupi and Raphael returned to Lucifer’s bedside to take care of his burning forearm.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Raphael was sitting with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands when Michael returned to the infirmary, as soon as he had Orupi settled. He was accompanied by their Father. She looked up and they saw the discouragement on her face.</p>
<p>“I tried everything! Cold water, the special paste I use to heal almost everything, wrapping his forearm tight to block oxygen, nothing works! It burns everything! I put his arm in a bowl of cold water with ice cubes and the ice melted in minutes and the water started boiling soon after! The only thing that seemed to resist is his hand splint but I had to remove it to work on his arm. What kind of fire is this?!” She threw her hands in the air in a sign of desperation. “Maybe he could help me understand it, but I can’t get him out of his trance!”</p>
<p>“Let me take a look,” God said calmly, getting closer. “Mmm,” he hummed knowingly. “It’s undoubtedly of hellish origin. It seems to use his celestial light as fuel to keep burning.” God seemed pensive, but added nothing more. </p>
<p>“How can we stop it?” Raphael asked.</p>
<p> “I have no idea. I will get the demon Mazikeen. Perhaps she will be able to help.”</p>
<p>“His light?!” Michael exclaimed. “It’s burning his light?! But it will kill him!” </p>
<p>“Calm down, Michael,” God said. “We will find a solution. It probably doesn't burn more than what he can replenish just by sleeping or eating. It’s just a little… inconvenient if it burns everything it touches. He can’t return to Earth with an arm on fire. I will get Mazikeen and return.”</p>
<p>Without giving his children time to question him further, God vanished.</p>
<p><em>“Just a little inconvenient?”</em> Raphael repeated in disbelief. “He can’t seriously have said that?”</p>
<p>“He did,” Michael sighed. “I thought He was more compassionate, understanding. It seems that Sammy has evolved more than Him.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Mazikeen Smith was pissed off. </p>
<p>“Why did you let him return there?!” she yelled at Michael. “You knew the risk!”</p>
<p>“And you know him. He’s stubborn. He would have gone with or without me. At least I was able to bring him back here.”</p>
<p>“You should have protected him!”</p>
<p>“We were surprised! He asked me to protect Orupi... and... I hesitated just a second too long.”</p>
<p>“And you’re supposed to be the ‘Sword of God’! You wouldn’t have lasted a week in Hell!”</p>
<p>“This quarrel won’t help Lucifer,” God said. “Mazikeen, do you know how we can fix this?”</p>
<p>Maze took Lucifer’s arm and examined it closely. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.</p>
<p>“It’s an open fire,” she said. “This kind of fire usually burns as long as there’s fuel to feed it.”</p>
<p>“But it’s burning his light!” Michael exclaimed. “We can’t let it burn until it kills him!”</p>
<p>“I… I will try to see if I can find something to stop it.” Maze sighed. “For now, you can use almost any hellish or heavenish material to wrap it if you want to avoid it burning everything it touches.”</p>
<p>“I will find something,” Raphael said. “Please, try to find a solution. We can’t let him die slowly like this.”</p>
<p>“Agreed. I won’t let him.”</p>
<p>Without another look to God or Michael, Maze left the infirmary.</p>
<p>“Father, I will need some one hundred percent heavenly fabric. I’ve tried some earthy or mixed ones and it doesn’t work. Where will I find this fabric? We don’t use that material as much these days but I really need it.”</p>
<p>“I will look at what I have or ask Zurael to create some.”</p>
<p>“What about Sammy?” Michael asked. “How do we bring him back?”</p>
<p>“I will put him in a deep sleep, but I don’t know if it will prevent him from reliving his memories. If he doesn't come back by himself, I will break the trance.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>It took almost three weeks of Heaven’s time for Raphael to get the fabric she needed to wrap Lucifer’s forearm. Mercifully, it was only a few hours on Earth. Lucifer remained asleep all that time. When he didn’t wake before the time came to return to Earth, God lay down beside his lightbringer and wrapped them both in a golden cocoon. It was the same way he had brought his lost mind back more than a year ago after his return from Hell.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer woke up in panic. Raphael soothed him until he could finally stop screaming and shaking. He looked around, completely lost, ready to fight back  against demons. When he pushed himself upright, he winced and looked down at his right arm.</p>
<p>“Bloody Hell! What happened to my Armani?!” His voice was shaking slightly despite the indignant tone.</p>
<p>“Your shirt was on fire!” Michael justified himself. “I had to do something!”</p>
<p>Lucifer examined the bandage wrapping his forearm. Raphael had put back his hand splint and he closed and opened his hand, wincing again.</p>
<p>“It… it’s kind of blurry. What happened with the bonding?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know exactly. Lilith touched you and said something. She was already gone when I noticed the fire.”</p>
<p>Lucifer started unwrapping the bandage but stopped when the first flames appeared. He nodded, knowing exactly what was going on, and wrapped it back. </p>
<p>“And Orupi? Did you bring him back?” he asked a tad coldly.</p>
<p>“Yes, but what about this fire on your arm? You know how to stop it?” </p>
<p>“No.” Lucifer answered bluntly. “I want to see Orupi. Make sure he’s fine.”</p>
<p>“He is. I’m much more worried about you. Father said it was burning your light.”</p>
<p>Lucifer glanced at his Father and back at Michael. “He’s right, but I have plenty in reserve.” His comment was sharp, almost strange giving the circumstances.</p>
<p>“But Sammy! Don’t tell me this doesn’t hurt!”</p>
<p>“I’ve known worse.” Lucifer turned towards his Father. “Please Dad, I want to see Orupi.”</p>
<p>“I left him with some family members, but I can take you to him if you insist.”</p>
<p>“I do.”</p>
<p>Lucifer swung his legs to sit on the edge of the bed and follow his father. Seconds later, he was kneeling on the floor.</p>
<p>“Bloody Hell! Twice in two days! That’s more than enough!”</p>
<p>“What do you mean by twice in two days?” Michael asked, helping his twin to sit back on the bed.</p>
<p>“Nevermind.”</p>
<p>Lucifer brought up the leg that seemed to have failed him, trying to understand what happened to cause him to fall like that.</p>
<p>“Let me take a look,” Raphael said gently.</p>
<p>“In case you forgot, I have prostheses. There’s nothing you can heal.” Lucifer huffed disdainfully.</p>
<p>“How can I forget?!” Raphael replied in an angry tone. “But I still might be able to help you!”</p>
<p>Looking closer, it appeared that it was the multi-axis ankle that was broken and was barely holding the foot. Raphael went to a shelf and came back with a roll of duct tape.</p>
<p>“You won’t tape my Louboutin!” Lucifer huffed. “Preposterous!”</p>
<p>“I will remove your shoe, I’m not stupid!”</p>
<p>Michael looked at his twin while Raphael was taping the prosthesis. It had been a while since he had seen him with a short temper like that. Was it because of the pain or something else?</p>
<p>The repair was enough to let Lucifer walk, even if he was limping because the ankle wasn’t moving anymore. As soon as Lucifer and their father were gone, Michael turned toward his sister.</p>
<p>“I don’t know what’s going on with him, but he’s acting strangely.”</p>
<p>“I agree. That behavior is unusual, even for him. Did you notice his expression when he looked at his arm?”</p>
<p>“No. What was so special about it?” he asked worriedly. </p>
<p>“I don’t know. He looked… resigned. I think he knows more than what he’s telling us.”</p>
<p>“You mean about the burning?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Maybe he knows there’s nothing that can be done about it.”</p>
<p>“Don’t say that! It would be a death sentence or at least forever pain!</p>
<p>“I know. I hope I’m wrong.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer and God were back soon after.</p>
<p>“I'd better go back to the penthouse before the Detective or Amina wake up,” Lucifer said. “I might need help landing once at the penthouse, Mi. I’m not sure how much longer this taping will stand.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, sure. I will help you.”</p>
<p>“Oh, and thanks, Raphi.” Lucifer added, turning towards her sister. “Sorry if I was a bit rude earlier.”</p>
<p>“That’s fine, Lucifer. It’s already forgotten. Please, take care of yourself.”</p>
<p>Lucifer nodded but didn't answer. After farewells to his Father and sister, he left, followed closely by Michael.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Did I told you I love to read your comments? XD</p>
<p>Have a good weekend everyone!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. My Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so, so much for all your comments on the previous chapter! This new one is a long one! I hope you will like it!</p>
<p>I will never thank enough my betas: Humbiecat, Fox_2005 and LoveDevilKing who once again, did an awesome job on this chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer and Michael landed on the balcony, Lucifer being able to keep his balance despite the broken ankle.</p>
<p>“It’s already daytime?” he asked Michael, surprised. “How long did I sleep?”</p>
<p>“A few weeks.” Michael tucked in his wings. “We have spectators by the way.”</p>
<p>Lucifer looked inside the living room to see three pairs of eyes staring at them.</p>
<p>“Bollocks!” he huffed. He hid his wings and opened the window-door. Chloe came immediately towards him.</p>
<p>“What happened?” she asked, noticing the missing half sleeve on his suit. “I was so worried when I saw you were not back when I woke up. Are you hurt?”</p>
<p>“I’m fine.” He walked slowly inside the room, limping slightly.</p>
<p>“You don’t look–”</p>
<p>“Prostheses don’t like fights with demons,” he remarked flatly. “How did Amina react to my wings?”</p>
<p>“Amazed more than anything else I would say, but what happened to your suit? Something to do with the bonding?”</p>
<p>Lucifer didn’t answer and went to Amina. Akuma, who was sitting beside the girl, sensed his master’s distress and came over to comfort him. Lucifer bent and petted him. </p>
<p>Chloe turned towards Michael. “What happened?” she asked him.</p>
<p>“Lilith–”</p>
<p>“Mi!” Lucifer growled in a menacing tone, glaring over his shoulder.</p>
<p>Michael cleared his throat. “I think I should let Lucifer tell you.”</p>
<p>Amina was staring at Lucifer and Michael in turns. “You look just like the Morning and the Evening Stars!” she said.</p>
<p>“W–What?” Lucifer managed to blurt.</p>
<p>“With your white and his black wings.”</p>
<p>“I… well… your brother is now in Heaven,” Lucifer said, suddenly changing the subject.</p>
<p>Amina tilted her head on the side, thinking for a moment, and suddenly smiled. “<em>You</em> are the Morning Star! You really are!” She seemed more excited than ever.</p>
<p>“It’s my name, yes. Lucifer Morningstar. If you’ll excuse me now, I would like to change my clothes.”</p>
<p>Amina nodded, still smiling. Lucifer was confused. Amina had told him the Morning Star was the angel who punished bad people. The equivalent of the Devil he figured. Orupi had said the same and had not been afraid of him. How could they be pleased that he was the Devil?</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>After a shower and putting on the prostheses he usually wore for surfing as well as a new suit – plain black with a white shirt –, Lucifer came back to the living room. He noticed that Michael was gone.</p>
<p>“We waited for you before we had breakfast. You want to help?” Chloe said. She was burning to ask him what happened in Hell but she knew now was not the right moment.</p>
<p>“Yes, sure.” he answered almost too quickly. He needed to stay busy to try to forget the constant burning on his forearm. It wasn’t the worst pain he had suffered but he was not used to constant pain anymore.</p>
<p>“Pancakes or eggs and bacon?” Chloe asked, ready to get the right pan.</p>
<p>“Eggs and bacon.” </p>
<p>Lucifer opened the fridge to take out what he needed but suddenly froze when he took the package of sliced bacon. His breath hitched and he closed his eyes trying to chase away the overwhelming memories. He put the package back in the fridge’s drawer.</p>
<p>“I– I changed my mind.” he said when he felt calm enough to talk. “I will make pancakes.”</p>
<p>Chloe noticed his hesitation.</p>
<p>“Everything alright?” she asked, getting closer.</p>
<p>“I’m fine. It’s just…” He stalled and took a deep breath, looking around. Trixie was with Amina in the living room but he wanted to make sure neither girl could hear him. “I had a… something happened… in Hell. I’ll tell you about it later, I promise,” he was quick to reassure her when it looked like she was about to interrupt him. “Suffice it to say that I found myself reliving everything from before and bacon is not palatable at the moment.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean by everything?” Chloe frowned.</p>
<p>"Every single moment the bonding forced me to obey.”</p>
<p>“Every single moment… but… how long were you...” Chloe looked at him, unable to finish her sentence.</p>
<p>“A few weeks apparently. I woke up in the Silver City. I don’t even know how Mi managed to bring me and Orupi there.”</p>
<p>“A few weeks? You had a dissociative episode that lasted for weeks?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Dad had to bring me back.”</p>
<p>“Oh! Honey!” Chloe brushed his cheek. “I’m so sorry!”</p>
<p>“That’s okay. At least Orupi is in Heaven now. I will just avoid sliced meat for some time.”</p>
<p>“Sure. That’s not a problem.”</p>
<p>Lucifer started preparing the pancake batter. “I had an idea for Amina’s birthday, by the way. We could do the same as your spawn and go to Disneyland.”</p>
<p>“Amina’s birthday?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Her birthday was nine days… no, ten days ago. She’s eleven now.”</p>
<p>“Really? She looks so much younger than Trixie.”</p>
<p>“Your urchin grew by almost six inches in the summer!” Lucifer laughed. “Do you think Amina would like Disneyland?” he added more seriously. “She knows a few Disney characters now.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure she would love it. I don’t know a single kid who doesn’t like Disneyland. Do you want to go with all our friends or just us?”</p>
<p>“Just us and just to one park this time. We can go today after breakfast if you want. Unless you have something else planned for today?”</p>
<p>“No, I have nothing planned but you have your session with Linda this morning.”</p>
<p>“I will ask her if we can postpone it to tomorrow.” He sighed.  “I– I need this… distraction today.”</p>
<p>“You want to talk about it?” Chloe asked, moving closer to Lucifer to wrap her arm around his waist, squeezing him tightly in support.</p>
<p>He shook his head. “Not now.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“Lucifer! Mommy! Look what Amina drew!” Trixie said excitedly, when they came out of the kitchen with a pile of pancakes on a plate. Trixie was holding a sheet of paper in front of her, obviously amazed.</p>
<p>The drawing represented Heihei and Pua on a beach. The amount of detail in the drawing was impressive.</p>
<p>“She drew that?!” Chloe let out, stunned. “How?”</p>
<p>“She just put the dvd box in front of her and started drawing,” Trixie answered. “Amazing, huh?” </p>
<p>“Indeed!”</p>
<p>You’re very talented, Amina,” Lucifer told her. “Who taught you how to draw like that?”</p>
<p>“My grandmother, but usually, I paint. Orupi loved painting too.” Her eyes became teary. “I miss him.” She suddenly grabbed the Stitch plush on the couch and held it tight trying to hold back her tears.</p>
<p>Lucifer kneeled in front of her and put a hand on her thigh. “Of course you do and it’s okay to be sad and cry over him. I lost one of my brothers too a few years ago and I still miss him sometimes. But it will be better over time. Orupi is in Heaven now and he’s happy. You need to be happy too.” He wiped one tear on her cheek with his thumb. “And one day, you will be reunited again.”</p>
<p>She nodded and gave him a faint smile. “Thank you,” she whispered.</p>
<p>Being thanked for something still made him uneasy. Not knowing how to answer, he nodded slightly and changed the subject. “I had an idea for a birthday celebration for you. We could go to an amusement park, all four of us. That’s what Trixie chose for her eleventh birthday.”</p>
<p>“What’s an amusement park?” Amina asked, frowning.</p>
<p>“A place to have fun and forget all your problems. I’m sure you’ll like it.”</p>
<p>“Okay. If you say it’s fun.”</p>
<p>“It is.”</p>
<p>Chloe and Trixie watched the pair with identical looks of concern, not understanding their conversation.</p>
<p>When asked why Amina had been crying, Lucifer related the exchange they just had. Trixie was all excited when she learned they were going to Disneyland. Even Akuma barked his approval of the plan.</p>
<p>“You had a great idea,” Chloe told Lucifer, smiling up at him.</p>
<p>“Well, we both need some distraction today.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>As expected, Amina loved Disneyland. She was amazed by everything she saw. The theme buildings, the shops, the ‘living’ characters, the parade and of course, the attractions, were all new things for her. The only thing she didn't count on was seeing so many people. She had never seen that many people in one place before in her life. It was more people than on her whole island! But she was with her friends and when she felt overwhelmed, Lucifer or Chole and even Trixie would take her aside to a quiet place and allow her to rest and regroup. And Akuma was always nearby. </p>
<p>Shortly after eight p.m., when Lucifer brought her to a store and asked her to choose whatever she wanted as a gift, she picked only one item, a Moana playset.</p>
<p>“Certainly you want something else,” Lucifer insisted. “A t-shirt, a dress or maybe another plush?”</p>
<p>“No, I’m fine, really. I don’t need all that stuff. I can play with my sister and friends with these toys but I’m fine with everything you have already given me. You’ve been so kind!”</p>
<p>“But I barely gave you anything! A plush and a few clothes that you needed anyway!” he protested. "There must be something else I can do?"</p>
<p>Amina smiled and looked at him like he was an idiot. Maybe he was. “You healed me. You care for me. You brought Orupi to Heaven. You have made me feel safe again. I have made new friends. That is far more important to me than anything else.”</p>
<p>Lucifer stared at her, mouth agape, suddenly overwhelmed by a strange emotion he couldn’t identify. A strange warmth built up in his chest and spread throughout his body but it wasn’t pride nor just happiness. </p>
<p>It was gratitude. She was expressing gratitude to the Devil. Not because of a deal. Not because he gave her a huge gift. But just because he was who he was. Because he had done what he considered normal. Done his ‘job’. Well, saving souls who didn’t belong in Hell was a new ‘task’ for the Devil, but if he hadn’t been the Devil, he couldn’t have helped Orupi.</p>
<p>“I–” But he couldn’t formulate anything to say. It was the first time someone showed him gratitude because he was the Devil. Not only was she not afraid of him, but she was grateful towards him.</p>
<p>He blinked several times and looked up, as tears came to his eyes, trying to hold them back. After a few deep breaths, he plastered a smile on his face and looked at her.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Amina” he whispered. He patted her head awkwardly before leaning down to brush a small kiss on her temple surprising himself as well as her. Straightening back up after his rare display of affection, he took the playset box Amina was holding and headed to the cashiers.</p>
<p>Chloe saw the kiss and noticed Lucifer seemed emotional but didn’t question him about it. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t talk anyway. They left the park right after, everyone exhausted after a long day.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer was already sleeping when Chloe came to bed. His wings were out, something he usually did when he was seeking comfort. She gently lay down on his left wing and pressed her back against him, seeking his warmth. He groaned and turned to face her, wrapping his right arm around her torso. His right wing followed the movement and covered them both. </p>
<p>She immediately noticed something was wrong. His forearm was way hotter than usual. Not enough to burn her but hot like a Magic Bag just getting out of the microwave.</p>
<p>He was still wearing the strange bandage she had noticed at his arrival that morning, even after his shower. She was used to seeing him wear a spandex sleeve to hide the branding mark but had never seen this kind of material before. She assumed it was probably from the Silver City. </p>
<p>She was still trying to fall asleep some twenty minutes later when she felt him suddenly tense. His breathing changed and he started moaning. Seconds later, he was jerking and kicking, trying to avoid something only his sleep psyche could see.</p>
<p>Chloe turned around to face him. “Lucifer, wake up! You’re having a nightmare.” </p>
<p>She sat up in bed, trying to shake him out of his bad dream. Having been woken up by his master's frenetic movements, Akuma pressed his snout in his back, in the gap between his wings trying to wake him as well and provide comfort.</p>
<p>“Lucifer! Wake up!” Chloe repeated louder. She didn’t want to scream though, to avoid waking up the two girls. Hopefully, Amina’s room was the last one in the corridor, but the absence of a door could still let the sound travel.</p>
<p>Lucifer's breathing became more frantic and he seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack and still she couldn't wake him. She ran to the adjoining bathroom, returning seconds later with a glass of water that she threw in his face. His eyes flew open and he stared blankly at her for a moment before acknowledging where he was.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” she said apologetically, “but shaking you wasn’t working. You almost had a panic attack in your sleep!”</p>
<p>He kept staring at her, still shaking. Chloe wasn’t sure if he was fully awake or not but then he stretched out his hand and pulled her closer, wrapping her once again with his wing. They remained a long moment in silence before Lucifer finally spoke.</p>
<p>“I was back there,” he said in a shaky voice. “In my cell.”</p>
<p>“Is this what you were talking about this morning?”</p>
<p>“I would assume so.”</p>
<p>Silence stretched between them. Chole had her arms around his neck, running one hand through his hair and the other over his back between his shoulder blades in an effort to help him calm down. She could feel his rapid heartbeat in her own chest.</p>
<p>“I noticed your forearm is hotter than usual,” Chloe said tentatively, when she realized he wasn’t going to say more. “Did Lilith reactivate the bonding?”</p>
<p>“Not exactly.” He sighed before adding in a low voice, “She ignited it.”</p>
<p>“She what?!” Chloe pulled away slightly from his embrace to be able to look at him in the dim light. “What do you mean by that?”</p>
<p>“She… activated it. The branding is burning.”</p>
<p>“I’m not sure I understand… you mean… it's a burning sensation?”</p>
<p>“No. Well, not only that. The brand itself is burning. Literally.” </p>
<p>Chloe shook her head. “You mean burning as in ‘on fire’?”</p>
<p>“Yes. It had set my sleeve on fire. That’s why my suit was ruined.”</p>
<p>“So the bandage around your forearm–”</p>
<p>“–Is there to prevent the branding from burning everything, yes.”</p>
<p>“How long will it keep burning?”</p>
<p>“Forever, I suppose,” he let out in a breath. Almost inaudible.</p>
<p>“What?! But that’s impossible! Fire needs fuel and oxygen to keep going. It will run out of fuel eventually, right?”</p>
<p>“Eventually, yes, but not too soon I hope.”</p>
<p>Chloe stared at him, a frightful thought suddenly burgeoning in the back of her mind.</p>
<p>“Wh– what does it burn?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.</p>
<p>Lucifer closed his eyes, unable to look at her.</p>
<p>“My light.”</p>
<p>Chloe gasped, in shock. “You can’t be serious.” She looked at him, willing him to ease her fears but he didn’t. He merely looked at her, resigned. “How long?” she managed to blurt.</p>
<p>“I have no idea. Dad seems to think it won’t burn more than what I can replenish, so no need to worry about that.”</p>
<p><em>No need to worry about that.</em> How could she not worry? It was like he just told her he had a cancer that would eventually kill him but to not worry about it.</p>
<p>“Do you feel it? The burning?” she asked after another awkward silence, anxiety making her voice shake</p>
<p>“Yes, of course. But I’ve known worse. I’m fine.”</p>
<p><em>I’m fine. I’m fine?</em> The way he considered suffering as almost normal for him was baffling.</p>
<p>“There must be a way to… I don’t know… fix it or at least, calm the burning sensation! Did you try ice?” Chloe interjected, her mom brain working, trying to find a way to ease his suffering.</p>
<p>“Raphael tried everything she could but the fire destroyed everything it touched except for pure celestial fabric. Ice melted in seconds. Even her healing salves were of no use”</p>
<p>“So, that's it? No one will try to help? You will just suffer until you die?!”</p>
<p>“Maze is working on it,” he answered, not specifying that neither of them believed anything could be done. Maybe asking Lilith to reverse what she had done was an option but he would rather suffer eternally or even die than to ask that bitch for anything. Because if Lilith could stop it, she would ask him for something in return. That, he was sure of.</p>
<p>“What about your Father? He’s God for crying out loud!” Chloe said angrily. “Can’t He do something?”</p>
<p>“No. He has no power over Hell stuff. Humans think my Dad is all powerful and can do everything but that’s not true. He’s omniscient, yes, can see everything, past and present and probable futures. He can create life, but He’s far from the powerful being your species thinks He is. That’s why He and Mom created us in the first place. Each of us has a power that most likely He doesn’t have. Or maybe He had it and just gave it to us. I never asked.”</p>
<p>“So what will you do?” she asked more calmly.</p>
<p>“Just try to live my life as usual. When I’m busy I don’t feel it so much.”</p>
<p>The trip to Disneyland suddenly made much more sense.</p>
<p>Chloe was glad that Lucifer had opened up enough to tell her what was going on but she could tell he was holding something back. She was also glad to note that his heart rate had resumed a more normal rhythm. Lucifer had buried his face in her neck and had begun planting kisses on her shoulder as he relaxed further into her embrace.</p>
<p>That gave her an idea.</p>
<p>“Mmm, I can think of some way to keep you busy,” she said teasingly, leaning back and tracing circles around one of his nipples with her finger.</p>
<p>“Are you trying to tempt the Devil, Detective?” he smirked with a grin.</p>
<p>“Maybe,” Chloe purred. Perhaps she was the one who needed a distraction.</p>
<p>“What about your spawn and Amina? I thought you said ‘not with a child around’.”</p>
<p>“We can be quiet. And if you keep your wings out, they won’t see anything anyway.”</p>
<p>“I will ask Akuma to mount a guard outside the room. I don’t like him watching us anyway.”</p>
<p>Chloe laughed, the idea of Akuma as a guard dog was almost funny. The Australian Shepherd was way too cute to look intimidating in any way. Lucifer did it anyway. </p>
<p>They made love with passion and fervor, seeking to banish their fears with each kiss, each caress, each press of flesh against flesh. Time seemed to stand still as they reassured each other in a way that transcended mere words before falling asleep in a clutter of arms, legs and wings.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer woke up screaming over and over again. Each time, Chloe would hold him and calm him down until he recognized his environment and acknowledged her. Shaking in her arms, he took more time after each nightmare to fall back asleep. Eventually, he got up and went out onto the balcony, his wings still out. He stayed there until the sun appeared on the horizon. When he created it, he never thought it would become the central point of his Father's little project.</p>
<p>As he was watching the city awakening, he rubbed his right forearm absently against his thigh in a useless attempt to erase the pain. He needed to stay busy. He tucked his wings out of view and went inside to prepare breakfast. It was going to be waffles this morning, the thought of bacon or any other meat making his stomach flip-flop and eggs alone were not acceptable. </p>
<p>The three girls were still sleeping so he only prepared the batter and cut some fresh fruits. When everything was ready, he brought two cups of coffee in the master bedroom and sat down beside Chloe.</p>
<p>“Good morning, Detective!”</p>
<p>Chloe stirred and opened her eyes.</p>
<p>"Mmm, what time is it?” she asked sleepily.</p>
<p>“Almost eight. I’m sorry to wake you so early after the awful night you had because of me, but I have my session in an hour. I was hoping we could eat together before I leave.”</p>
<p>“Yes, of course.” She sat up and took the cup he handed her. “And you don’t have to apologize. Your night was way worse than mine.”</p>
<p>Lucifer shrugged and took a sip of his own coffee. “It’s not like I’ve never had nightmares.”</p>
<p>“Not like these, or at least, not for a long time.”</p>
<p>“Then let’s hope the good doctor will be able to help me with that.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer came back from his session with a smile on his face. Chloe never asked about his sessions. Not only was it private but she didn’t need to know everything. Didn’t <em>want</em> to know everything. Sometimes he told her, but most of the time she had no idea what he and Linda talked about.</p>
<p>“Linda and Amenadiel will come with Charlie to play Monopoly this afternoon. I hope you don’t mind.”</p>
<p>“You know I’m always happy to see them. We should call Ella and Michael too. Dan is out of town for the weekend, though.”</p>
<p>“That’s fortuitous. This way we’ll be an even number and be able to make teams. I wondered what Amina would think of it. I’m pretty sure she has never played a board game before.”</p>
<p>“She can’t be worse than Michael when he played the first time. He barely understood what money was back then!”</p>
<p>Lucifer smiled at the memory. “Yes, you’re right! Where’re the girls?” he asked suddenly, looking around.</p>
<p>“In Trixie’s bedroom, drawing. I think Amina is teaching Trixie.”</p>
<p>“It’s remarkable how they play together so well even though they don’t speak the same language. There’s no Google translate for Satawalese.” </p>
<p>“Children are like that. And you don’t need to speak to be able to draw.”</p>
<p>“You’re right. I will call Mi to invite them to join us this afternoon.” Lucifer pulled out his phone to call his brother.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Amina was even more confused than Michael had been when they started the Monopoly game, but she quickly understood how it worked. Lucifer and she teamed up while Chloe chose Trixie as her partner. Michael and Ella were a team and of course, Amenadiel chose Linda although he ended up playing alone most of the time since Linda kept leaving to check on Charlie.</p>
<p>Even though Lucifer had regained his sight a few months ago, they played with the game board designed for the visually impaired. For Lucifer, it was a way to remember how thoughtful his friends had been when he was at his lowest point.</p>
<p>Lucifer and Amina ended up winning. Michael teased his twin saying it was only the beginner’s luck because no matter who he was paired with, Lucifer usually lost more often than he won.</p>
<p>Everyone stayed for dinner. Waiting for their order to arrive, they watched Amina play with Charlie. It was obvious she was used to taking care of young children. When Trixie showed everyone the drawings Amina had made, they were all flabbergasted by her talent.</p>
<p>“It’s sad she lives so far away!” Ella said. “If she was in LA, many graphic studios would love to hire her in a few years! I never saw someone so young draw so well!”</p>
<p>“Yes, I must admit that I have seen very few people as young as Amina with that amount of talent in my very long life,” Lucifer agreed. “Da Vinci was one of them.”</p>
<p>“<em>The</em> ‘Da Vinci’?” Ella asked. “As in <em>Leonardo Da Vinci</em>?”</p>
<p>“Of course. Who else?” he answered.</p>
<p>“It’s sometimes easy to forget you are that old!” she laughed.</p>
<p>Lucifer smiled. “I remind you that your boyfriend is the same age as me.”</p>
<p>Ella looked at Michael, grinning. “Well, that too, is easy to forget!” </p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Linda and Amenadiel left with Charlie right after dinner but Ella and Michael stayed a little longer. The adults chatted while the two girls continued playing together.</p>
<p>“Trixie will miss her,” Chloe said while they were talking about Amina. “And the worst is they will probably never see each other again considering they have no regular internet connection on her island.”</p>
<p>“I will talk to the people in charge of her village,” Lucifer said. “If they want, I could provide them a permanent connection.”</p>
<p>“It would change their life radically,” Ella answered. “I’m not sure if it would be a good or a bad thing.”</p>
<p>“That’s why I need to talk to them first. But seeing Amina drawing has given me an idea. I can buy her an iPad with the pencil. She won’t need an internet connection to draw and use it. She told me she can’t draw as often as she’d like because they don’t have much access to paper. Most of the time she says she draws in the sand or paints.”</p>
<p>“Do they at least have electricity there?” Ella asked. “You know that some islands don’t even have that.”</p>
<p>“I’ve already thought about it and I ordered a battery pack with solar panels. I should receive it in a few days. It’s not bigger than a briefcase so she’ll be able to carry it. I prefer to buy the iPad directly from the store though. We will go tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Chloe and Ella exchanged glances. What Lucifer was doing for Amina was way above taking care of her. </p>
<p>“What?” Lucifer said when he noticed their reaction.</p>
<p>“You know you don’t have to do all that,” Chloe answered. “She will be happy even if she doesn't have an iPad.”</p>
<p>“She is an artist! She should have every opportunity to indulge her desire. An iPad will be the perfect tool for her!”</p>
<p>Of course, fulfilling desires was his specialty. </p>
<p>“Yes, you’re right,” Chloe conceded. “You’ve talked with her about this a lot obviously.”</p>
<p>“Of course we did! What do you think? That we’ve spent two whole days just watching movies?”</p>
<p>“No, of course not. I’m sorry. I should have known better.” A small smile graced her features as she looked at her Devil. He could be generous to a fault sometimes and she loved him all the more for it.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Before Ella and Michael left, Lucifer gave Michael the broken prosthesis, asking him to take it to Shawn for a repair.</p>
<p>“Please ask him if he can do it as soon as possible, whatever the price. My Louboutins don’t fit well with the other pair.”</p>
<p>“Of course! What do I tell him if he asks how it happened?” Michael answered.</p>
<p>“Tell him whatever you want, except the Hell part of course. You’re not the one who doesn’t lie.”</p>
<p>“That doesn’t mean I like to.” Michael protested.</p>
<p>“Then I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Lucifer smirked.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>When everyone was gone and both girls were in bed – Trixie still sleeping with Amina – Lucifer sat on the couch. He went to remove his prostheses but stopped when he remembered his wheelchair was still with Amina. He sighed and wished he could remove Amina’s casts to get his wheelchair back. Even if his prostheses were really comfortable, he still felt freer when he removed them. </p>
<p>“You looked tired,” Chloe said. “You should go to bed instead.”</p>
<p>“Yes, you’re right. I just hope I sleep better than last night.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>He did not. At all. Again he woke screaming from his recurring nightmares but as always, Chloe was there to calm him down.</p>
<p>“I thought that after my session with Linda it would be better!” Lucifer complained, running his hands through his hair and down his face.</p>
<p>“You know it can take some time for a session to really sink in.” Chloe answered. “You have to give it time.”</p>
<p>“It’s easy for you to say. It’s not you who relive torture every time you close your eyes!”</p>
<p>“I know, Honey. I’m so sorry you have to endure this.” Chloe gently played in his disheveled hair trying to soothe him. “I wish I could do something to help.”</p>
<p>“Being there when I wake up is already helping. We’re lucky my screams haven’t woken up the girls yet.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it. Kids that age are hard to wake up.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The next morning, Lucifer was already dressed and the breakfast was ready when Chloe woke up. He was quieter than usual during breakfast and Chloe noticed dark bags under his eyes but she said nothing. There was nothing to say anyway. She knew the reason for his apparent tiredness and there was nothing they could do about it.</p>
<p>As promised, Lucifer bought Amina an iPad Pro. The newest one and the biggest one of course. He made sure that it came with the pencil. Once home, he downloaded every app recommended for drawing.</p>
<p>From that moment forward, Amina spent most of her time drawing. They were still watching one or two Disney movies each day and Lucifer downloaded the digital version of every movie they watched onto the iPad. By the end of the week, they were at their fifth watch of Moana, Lucifer translating less and less each time.</p>
<p>In the evenings, Trixie and Amina worked on an English-Satawalese dictionary. Amina would draw something and Trixie would write the word in English beside it. Amina would then add how to pronounce the word. Trixie loved teaching her English and Amina was learning fast.</p>
<p>“I think I’d like to be a teacher. I didn’t know it was this much fun!” Trixie claimed one evening.</p>
<p>“I thought you wanted to be the first president of Mars!” Lucifer teased her.</p>
<p>“I’m not a kid anymore!” she huffed. “Zoo keeper still seems fun but teaching is even better.”</p>
<p>“Teaching is a great profession indeed,” he replied.</p>
<p>“I think you would be an amazing teacher, Monkey,” Chloe added. “In fact, you already are!”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>At the precinct, the Lieutenant had been kind enough to not give any new case to Chloe. She had a lot of late paperwork anyway and was helping Bruce gather all he needed to send Amina back home.</p>
<p>It was more complicated than she thought it would be to obtain all the papers. The language barrier and the constantly interrupted internet connection were not helping either. </p>
<p>They also realized they would have to embalm or cremate Orupi’s body to be able to send it back home. The trip would take at least two full days – including two planes and a boat – to get it there and ice packs wouldn’t be enough to preserve the body. Before doing anything, they had to ask the parents what they wanted for their lost child. Even if he found all these rituals preposterous, Lucifer insisted on letting them decide.</p>
<p>Chloe also took a full statement from Amina on video at the precinct with Lucifer translating. If they could avoid having Amina testify in person at the trial, it would simplify things for everyone.</p>
<p>Before the end of the week, they knew Amina would have to stay in L.A. for another week at least. Lucifer started to call his contact to organize the trip to Micronesia on a private flight. When he had looked at commercial flights, he realized that there was no need to spend sixty-four hours in a plane when it was possible to do it three times faster and without all those stops everywhere by traveling by private jet. Of course he had no contact for the last part – the boat ride – but at least they would have a comfortable trip for the plane part.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>They settled into a routine and things were going great. Except for Lucifer’s nightmares. Every night, he woke up screaming. Multiple times. Every day, he was a little more tired. He was also eating less and less.</p>
<p>By the middle of the second week, he was afraid to go to sleep. Was trying to not sleep, even though he knew he needed to. The branding fire was slowly burning his light and he could feel the lack of energy growing day after day. His vital energy was fading and he could do nothing about it.</p>
<p>When Bruce finally got the last of the missing papers, Lucifer finalized the flights to Micronesia. He would have to go to the precinct the next day to sign the last of the papers but they would be able to leave on the weekend. </p>
<p>Lucifer had to find a way to sleep before that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>" </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, I love to read your comments!</p>
<p>I want to say a special thanks to Mendenbar01 for all her help for the drawing!</p>
<p>Stay safe everyone and have a nice weekend!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Keep Faith</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>One day earlier for the new chapter! Yay! Thanks everyone for all your comments. They are my little stars illuminating my dark days.</p>
<p>A huge thanks to my betas: LoveDevilKing, Humbiecat and Fox_2005!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chloe woke up with a jolt, like someone had pushed her. She turned to look toward Lucifer but only Akuma was in bed, sleeping. She turned around to go back to sleep when suddenly, it hit her. The shower was still running. When she went to bed, she heard Lucifer taking a shower and fell asleep soon after. What time was it now? She looked at her phone to see that it was a little past two thirty in the morning. That meant that… She sat up straight, suddenly worried. The shower had been running for almost three hours! </p>
<p>She quickly put on her robe and hurried to the bathroom. The temperature in the room was almost freezing inside, causing Chloe to grip and rub her arms. The first thing she saw was Lucifer’s prostheses abandoned just outside of the shower. <em>Why would he remove them?</em> she thought. They were designed for water.</p>
<p>And then she saw him. Huddled on the floor of the shower, wearing only boxers and the polyurethane liners over his stumps. He was not directly under the shower jet but his right forearm was. His palm was open toward the ceiling, the bandage had been removed and discarded in a pile beside him. She noticed he had also removed his right hand splint, something he <em>never</em> did.</p>
<p>For the first time, she saw what he had been hiding beneath the bandage. Little gold flames licked the edges of the branding. How could flames resist being soaked in water like that? The strange writing was literally burning, water evaporating in smoke as soon as it touched his forearm. Was it that hot? Even if the flames couldn't burn his skin, could he feel them? Probably, considering the idea of running cold water over it.</p>
<p>Chloe wondered for a moment if she should let him sleep like that. It was certainly uncomfortable but at least he was sleeping. He hadn’t slept for two hours in a row in the last week. As she was about to turn around, a sudden thought grabbed her. Reaching in, she felt the water. It was too cold, even for an angel. Could angels die from hypothermia? She bent and touched the skin of his left arm. It was freezing even if it was not under the jet. She hurried to shut down the water.</p>
<p>She grabbed a thick towel from the cabinet and gently wrapped Lucifer in it, hoping he could sleep a little longer. She realized her mistake within seconds. The towel was already smoking where it was touching his right forearm and before she could remove it it was already on fire. She quickly extinguished it by putting the towel on the wet shower floor.</p>
<p>Grabbing the bandage, she decided to rewrap Lucifer’s forearm. As she gently took his hand to lift his forearm, Lucifer suddenly pulled on his arm and put it against his chest.</p>
<p>“Let me sleep,” he moaned. “Please, I just want to sleep.”</p>
<p>His pleading was heartbreaking.</p>
<p>“I know, Honey, but you’re freezing. Let me help you.”</p>
<p>His only answer was a groan. When she tried to grab his arm again, he tried to push himself away from her, to no avail. All his energy seemed to have vanished.</p>
<p>“Careful, D’tective,” he mumbled . “Or you’ll get burned.”</p>
<p>“I know Lucifer. Please let me help you.”</p>
<p>She took his hand and pulled it towards her. This time, he offered no resistance. Taking care to not touch the branding on fire, she carefully wrapped his forearm. Lucifer watched her at first but keeping his eyes open seemed to be too great an effort for him. She put his hand splint back on as well. When she finished, he was shivering so hard she could hear his teeth-chattering. </p>
<p>“Lucifer, you need to get out of the shower so I can dry you properly. You’ll get sick if you stay cold like that.”</p>
<p>“The D–Devil doesn't g–get sick,” he huffed in a quiet voice. “I’ll....be fine.”</p>
<p>“Maybe you won’t get sick, but you don’t look fine.”</p>
<p>Pulling and pushing him, she finally managed to make him move until he was outside the wet shower. Chloe started by removing his wet boxers. Not an easy task on an almost limp body. She was waiting for some quirky remark about taking his clothes off but it never came. She finally took a new bath towel and wrapped him in it.</p>
<p>When she took his prostheses intending to help him put them on, he stopped her.</p>
<p>“No. Don’t have energy to walk.” Even talking seemed to take a great effort.</p>
<p>“But you can’t stay there!” she protested. “Do you want your wheelchair?”</p>
<p>He shook his head. “I will crawl. It’s not that far.”</p>
<p>Slowly, helped by Chloe, he got on his knees and started crawling to the bedroom. A small distance that took him ten minutes to cover. Twice, he said that he was just going to stay there, waiting to gain back his energy. Both times, Chloe forced him to go forward.</p>
<p>Akuma had followed Chloe into the bathroom but had stayed off to the side while she checked on Lucifer. When his master began to make his way back to the bedroom, he aligned his body next to him, attempting to help him along. Unfortunately, he may have been more of a hindrance than a help, as Lucifer had to keep pushing him out of his way.</p>
<p>The hardest part though, was putting Lucifer back in bed. He kneeled beside it but was unable to climb and Choe had to push him on his butt with all her strength to allow him to finally lie down on the mattress.</p>
<p>He stayed there, huddled in a foetal position, shivering. Chloe covered him with the sheet and the comforter and she added another blanket over it. Akuma jumped on the bed to snuggle with Lucifer as well. Chloe tried to cuddle him to give him some of her warmth but he was so cold she had to get up and put on jogging pants and a thick jersey to be able to stand the cold of his skin. For the first time in the last two weeks, Lucifer didn’t cover them with his wings. Maybe he just didn’t have the energy for that. Chloe didn’t ask. Lucifer slowly stopped shivering as he warmed up and fell asleep. Chloe took much longer to follow him to the land of dreams.</p>
<p>Despite his exhaustion, Lucifer didn’t sleep long. He woke up panting, moaning because he didn’t even have the energy to scream. He started shivering again, probably both from cold and terror.</p>
<p>For the rest of the night, he alternated between sleep and nightmares. Before her alarm went off, Chloe got up but left Lucifer in bed. He had just fallen back asleep a few minutes ago and definitely needed all the rest he could get. She would wake him up just before leaving for work – if he slept until then of course.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬ </p>
<p>Forty minutes later, he arrived in the living room, fully dressed but looking like hell. The bags under his eyes were almost like bruises and his skin had an awful grey color, closer to a corpse than a living being.</p>
<p>“You look awful,” Chloe said, looking at him. </p>
<p>“I know. The shower, it…” He sighed. “It was a bad idea.” He sat heavily beside her.</p>
<p>“Why?” she asked.</p>
<p>“Doesn’t matter,” he brushed off her concern.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry you put yourself through this. I wish there was something I could do to ease your pain.”</p>
<p>“It’s not the pain. I’m used to pain.”</p>
<p>“It’s still been a while since you suffered like this.”</p>
<p>He let out a bitter laugh. “If only.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean? I thought–”</p>
<p>“–you thought wrong,” he snapped “I still have phantom pain from time to time. A sudden burning sensation or electric shock. It never lasts long but it can be really intense.”</p>
<p>“What? But... why didn’t you ever say something? Maybe we could–"</p>
<p>“–do nothing.” he cut her off. “Even when I was taking medication it was useless for this kind of burst of pain. It’s alright. It doesn’t happen very often. Please, don’t worry about it.”</p>
<p>They sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts until Chloe asked, “Why did you get in the shower like that then?”</p>
<p>“I was hoping…” he shook his head. “ I thought that if I didn’t feel the burning sensation, maybe I would stop having nightmares. I just wanted to sleep.”</p>
<p>“Oh, Honey!” She brushed his cheek and he shivered under her touch. His skin was still cold. Not as cold as it had been in the shower, but way colder than usual. “You’re supposed to come with me this morning to finalize the last papers for Amina. Will you be alright?”</p>
<p>“Yes, it will be fine.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“Hey man!” Dan greeted Lucifer when he arrived in the bullpen. “You look like hell! It’s hard to take care of a child isn’t it?”</p>
<p>“Not at all.” Lucifer grumbled. </p>
<p>He sat down on the chair in front of Chloe’s desk and leaned his elbows on the latter. Chloe, who was pushing the wheelchair, parked Amina beside him and sat at her desk. Akuma sat between Lucifer and Amina. As it usually happened every other morning they were expecting him, Bruce had not arrived yet.</p>
<p>“Are you alright?” Dan asked worriedly.</p>
<p>“Do I look alright?” Lucifer answered abruptly. Seeing Dan taking a step back, he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rude.”</p>
<p>Dan looked at him, even more worried. Lucifer never apologized for being rude.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong, man?”</p>
<p>“Nothing you can fix.”</p>
<p>Dan and Ella were not aware of what had happened in Hell the week before, Lucifer having asked Chloe and Michael to stay quiet about it. </p>
<p>“If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.” Dan said.</p>
<p>“Please, don’t worry about me.” Lucifer stared at Dan intensely.  “You know, you’ve changed a lot Daniel. If you stay on this path, you will be able to see Charlotte again after all.”</p>
<p>“I… I hope so. I’m doing my best.”</p>
<p>“You’re doing great. I’m glad none of my friends will end up in Hell. You’re a good man, Daniel. Never doubt it.”</p>
<p>“Th–Thanks.” Daniel frowned and observed Lucifer closer. Something was wrong and it was not only his obvious exhaustion. He looked smaller somehow, lesser. Even his tailored suits seemed to hang on his frame. </p>
<p>He had no time to explore his thoughts further because Ella came out from her lab.</p>
<p>“Amina!” the bubbly scientist said joyfully. “Glad to see you!” Amina smiled at her and Ella hugged the little girl. When she turned toward Lucifer, she gasped. “Dude! What happened to you? You look awful! Rough night?”</p>
<p>“Many rough nights.” Lucifer sighed.</p>
<p>“Something keeping you up? Or someone?” Ella added with a wink.</p>
<p>“I wish it was someone. Where’s Mi?”</p>
<p>“Babysitting Charlie for a few hours. Seriously, are you alright?”</p>
<p>Lucifer sighed. “Who’s next in line to ask me that? It’s just a lack of sleep,” he tried to minimize their concerns.</p>
<p>“It’s great that you’re helping others but you need to take care of yourself too! Can I give you a hug?”</p>
<p>“Of course Miss Lopez. A hug from you is always welcome.”</p>
<p>Ella frowned but hugged him in her typical fashion like everything was normal. Since when did Lucifer like to be hugged? Worse, Lucifer was hugging her back in a real embrace. Looking on, Dan was even more confused than Ella after what Lucifer just told him.</p>
<p>“You’re a great friend,” Lucifer added. “I’m glad you’re my twin’s girlfriend. That he has someone like you to love and support him. At least, he won’t be alone.”</p>
<p>“You’re only leaving for a week! He will survive your absence!” Ella laughed.</p>
<p>“Yes, of course.” Lucifer gave her a tight smile.</p>
<p>“You’re leaving tomorrow night, right?” Ella asked.</p>
<p>“Yes, our flight is at 7:45 p.m. We will arrive in Micronesia on Monday morning though, because of the international date line that we cross. Not knowing how much time the boat ride will take to go to Amina’s island back and forth, I planned the trip back for the next weekend.”</p>
<p>“It will almost be a honeymoon!” Ella said excitedly.</p>
<p>Lucifer shrugged but didn’t answer. He looked more than tired, Ella thought. He looked… defeated.</p>
<p>“Don’t dream too much about a honeymoon!” Chloe answered, interrupting Ella’s thoughts. “Those angels are not well versed on human traditions,” she added in a quiet voice. Chloe was expecting some reply from her boyfriend but nothing came.</p>
<p>“How many of these horrors does he own?” Lucifer suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere.</p>
<p>They all turned to see Bruce approaching, a purple and orange flowery shirt flashing from the other side of the bullpen. He was carrying his huge suitcase, rolling it laboriously behind him.</p>
<p>If Bruce intended to say something about Lucifer’s obvious exhaustion, the glare Lucifer sent him dissuaded him from doing it. He swallowed heavily before greeting everyone.</p>
<p>“I need to be at the airport in one hour and half,” he said, opening his briefcase. “Can someone take me there or do I need to call a taxi?”</p>
<p>“I can take you,” Dan said.</p>
<p>Bruce handed Lucifer the papers he had to sign since he was temporarily the legal guardian for Amina. Customs would need them.</p>
<p>“Your trip is all set, right?” Bruce asked.</p>
<p>“Yes. Private flight to Chuuk and another one from Chuuk to Houk airfield. A boat is supposed to wait for us there because no plane can land on their island.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I know. It’s one of the smallest one in all Micronesia. Private flight, huh? I didn’t know LAPD was so rich.”</p>
<p>“They are not.” Lucifer didn’t add that he paid for the trip. It was clear enough.</p>
<p>“Oh!” Bruce said, wide eyes. “Well, have a nice trip! I really hope you find those who kidnapped them.”</p>
<p>When Lucifer didn’t answer, Chloe did for him, “We will.” She didn’t miss the sudden sadness on Lucifer’s face, even if he quickly put a smile on his face to hide it. He must have been even more exhausted than she thought to say nothing about the punishment they would deserve.</p>
<p>The lieutenant had given Chloe the rest of the day off so she could prepare for the long trip awaiting them. Before leaving, Lucifer turned and hugged Ella once more, the way she usually does everyone she meets. </p>
<p>“Hey! Don’t steal my hugs!” she laughed, giving Lucifer a tight squeeze to emphasize her point.</p>
<p>“Take care of yourself Miss Lopez. Please, say goodbye to Michael for me. I won’t have time to see him before leaving.” The last time he had seen him was a week ago, when Michael had brought him the repaired prosthesis.</p>
<p>“Sure, I will! Have a nice trip!”</p>
<p>Lucifer thanked her and turned towards Dan to hug him, surprising him in the process.</p>
<p>“Keep faith in yourself Daniel.”</p>
<p>“You’re weird, man!” Dan said laughingly when Lucifer parted from the hug. “If I didn’t know you, I’d think you were saying your last goodbyes!”</p>
<p>“Funny,” Lucifer replied bluntly. Turning towards Chloe he added, “Can we go now? I still have some phone calls to make before our trip.”</p>
<p>“Yeah sure,” Chloe answered. She added nothing, but the worries she had pushed away when she had learned about the branding burning his light came back in force. He looked so exhausted and pale. Was Dan right? Was Lucifer telling everyone goodbye for the last time? Was he dying? Would he tell her if he was? Probably not. She was not sure if she wanted to ask him this question or not. He would not lie and she didn’t want to know if the answer was yes. At least not now. Maybe after their trip to Micronesia.</p>
<p>She couldn’t help herself and sent a silent prayer. <em>Please God, don’t let him die!</em></p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The first thing Lucifer did once at the penthouse was remove Amina’s casts. He took a blade forged in Hell and with an expert hand, cut them away from her legs. The blade sliced through the plaster as if it was cutting butter. Amina looked at him with fascination, not at all afraid that he would cut her.</p>
<p>Even if her legs had been healed, she hadn’t walked in months and they were too weak to support her for more than a few steps.</p>
<p>“You can keep the wheelchair until we leave,” Lucifer told her. “I will carry you if needed afterwards.”</p>
<p>They spent the rest of the day quiet, Lucifer falling asleep on the couch while watching Moana for the zillionth time. Amina didn’t even need translation anymore, singing most of the songs with no mistakes.</p>
<p>When she arrived from school, Trixie spent all her time playing with Amina. As expected, she was really sad that it was their last evening together. </p>
<p>Chloe was hoping Lucifer would be able to sleep a little before leaving but just like the last two weeks, he woke up from nightmares too often to allow him to rest. It was a good thing they were taking a private flight. His screams would have disturbed a plane full of people.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“I’d like to have a special session today,” Lucifer told Linda on Saturday morning. “Let’s talk about you instead of me. We never talk about you.”</p>
<p>“It’s your session, Lucifer. That’s perfectly normal that we talk about you!” </p>
<p>“Please, Doctor. I don’t want to spend the whole flight thinking about my problems. I’d prefer happier thoughts.”</p>
<p>“You know it’s precisely when patients need it the most that they try to avoid their session.” Linda had of course noticed how awful Lucifer looked and suspected that his nightmares were getting worse instead of better.</p>
<p>“I’m not trying to avoid it. I’d just like to hear about you. About how your life has changed since you learned the truth. How’s your life with my brother and Charlie working out?”</p>
<p>After a few minutes of arguing, Linda finally conceded to talk about herself. How her perspective of life had been turned upside-down after learning the truth. Confessed all her insecurities about being the mother of a half-angel child. How she had thought for a long time that she would go to Hell but was working on it.</p>
<p>“You’re doing great. You’re a wonderful mother and an awesome therapist. If someone deserves to go to the Silver City, it’s you.”</p>
<p>“I’m getting more and more convinced of it because of you and Amenadiel. You both have been a great help. Thank you Lucifer.”</p>
<p>“I should be the one to thank you, Doctor. You helped me understand so many things and sort out so many emotions. I am who I am now because of you.”</p>
<p>“Well, we’re helping each other then!”</p>
<p>Lucifer gave her a small smile. “Please, say hello to Amenadiel and Charlie for me.”</p>
<p>“Sure!”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>When Lucifer left Linda’s office, he didn’t go back to the penthouse right away. He wanted to see Maze but didn’t want to open his wings in front of Chloe. Since the disastrous shower experience, he was pretty sure his wings were not glowing anymore and he didn’t want to worry her. He parked his Corvette in a quiet area and left for the Silver City.</p>
<p>Lucifer landed hard, his wings barely strong enough for the flight. He hid them as soon as he arrived, not wanting one of his siblings to see them. He went directly to see Maze, not intending to see his Father or any of his siblings. They would probably try to make him stay to spare what was left of his energy, but he didn’t want that. He preferred to spend his last few days with Chloe instead of sleeping for all eternity in the Silver City in case they didn’t find a cure for the hellish burning. Besides, he had to take Amina home, it was very important to him, even if it was probably the last thing he would do.</p>
<p>Maze was alone when Lucifer entered the apartments she shared with Eve. She gasped when she saw him. “Lucifer! What the hell happened?!”</p>
<p>“I may have made a mistake,” he said quietly.</p>
<p>“What mistake?” she asked more softly. She brought him a chair, seeing how wobbly he seemed to be. He practically collapsed into it, the trip having exhausted him more than he realized.</p>
<p>“I– I took a cold shower. Well, my forearm did. A long shower.”</p>
<p>“What?! You put running cold water on it? Are you crazy?!”</p>
<p>“I just wanted to sleep without nightmares!” Lucifer almost shouted. “I thought… maybe… if I didn’t feel the burning sensation, I would stop reliving my torture.” he added more calmly.</p>
<p>“But you know open burning will just burn harder if you try to extinguish it! How could you–?”</p>
<p>“–I didn’t think!” he cried desperately, cutting Maze off. “I was tired and just wanted to bloody sleep! I realized my mistake when Chloe woke me but by then it was too late.”</p>
<p>“What will you do now? Stay here?” she asked in a quieter tone.</p>
<p>“No. I need to take Amina home.”</p>
<p>“You can’t return to Earth! You won’t live more than a few days in this state!”</p>
<p>Lucifer stared at her but didn’t answer, silently beseeching her to understand.</p>
<p>“You came to say goodbye…,” she muttered breathlessly.</p>
<p>“I’ve already done so with the others, except Mi and Amenadiel of course. They will know what’s going on if they see me like this.”</p>
<p>“Decker–”</p>
<p>“Chloe doesn’t know.”</p>
<p>“But if the others know your little secret won’t last long.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t explicitly say I was dying.”</p>
<p>“I won’t let you!” Maze cried out, beginning to pace around the apartment.  “You can’t just give up like that!”</p>
<p>“I won’t spend the bloody eternity sleeping here either!” he shouted, hurt and anger giving him a boost of energy that went away as quickly as it came.</p>
<p>“Maybe we will find a way to fix this! There must be a way!”</p>
<p>Maze was yelling now, unable to contain her rage. She felt her eyes filling with tears and she wiped them furiously.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry Maze,” he said, rising slowly from the chair with none of his usual grace “I just want you to know you’ve been a great friend. Goodbye.”</p>
<p>Before Maze could react, Lucifer unfolded his wings and disappeared.</p>
<p>“No!” she yelled at the empty room. “No, no, no! You can’t!” Infuriated, she started calling God. “God, come here right now! Right fucking now!” She never prayed in her life but calling God was not so different than calling Lucifer when they still had a connection. A few seconds later, God appeared in front of her.</p>
<p>“I would appreciate some restraint on your way of calling me,” God said calmly.</p>
<p>“Your stubborn son is dying and you need to help him!”</p>
<p>“No, I will not.”</p>
<p>“What?! But you can’t let him die! You need to bring him back here!”</p>
<p>“It’s his choice to return to Earth. I won’t interfere with it.” The way God stayed calm infuriated Maze even more.</p>
<p>“But he will die! Disappear! Be obliterated! No Heaven, no Hell! You can’t let that happen!”</p>
<p>“Free Will is more important to him than what I want. I cast him out for that reason. I’m sorry Mazikeen for deceiving you, but I won’t bring him back by force.”</p>
<p>Maze was crying now. “But…”</p>
<p>“Don’t lose faith Mazikeen of the Lilim. There’s always hope.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“Keep faith.” God repeated and he disappeared.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks again for reading! Do I scare you a little?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The most incredible thing ever created</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you're ready for another hard chapter...</p>
<p>Thanks once again to my wonderful betas: LoveDevilKing, Humbiecat and Fox_2005</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dan drove them to the airport. Chloe had packed a large backpack for their trip, not wanting to carry a suitcase. Not knowing what kind of boat they would be taking on the last part of the trip, it would be easier for her to carry considering that Lucifer was already carrying the case with the solar panels and battery for the iPad and would most likely have to help Amina walk. Exhausted as he was, she would not ask him to take care of their luggage as well. If  he had looked bad yesterday, he seemed even worse today.</p>
<p>Lucifer had complained at first that his suits and shirts would be wrinkled in a backpack but Chloe assured him that by rolling them, it wouldn’t be so bad. Amina was carrying Stitch and a small waterproof bag in which they had put the iPad and a few clothes of Trixie’s that Chloe had given her. </p>
<p>Trixie and Amina were both crying, saying their last goodbye. Lucifer translated for them. Chloe saw he was emotional too. He never liked seeing people cry. After Amina and Trixie hugged, Lucifer hugged Trixie too, adding to Chloe’s fear that something was wrong with him. Dan and she exchanged worried glances but it was not the time to share their preoccupations. After one last goodbye, Trixie left with Dan, waving until she was out of sight.</p>
<p>After the security agent made sure all their paperwork was in order, a process that took way too long for Lucifer’s patience, they were able to head toward their plane. Orupi’s coffin was already on board. The Bombardier Global Express was a nice looking plane all painted in white with a thin gold line going from the nose to the tail.</p>
<p>They exchanged a few words with the pilots, Lucifer making sure one last time that everything he asked for was on board. Nothing complicated, just a few comfy blankets, a few meals they could reheat, a lot of snacks and a few drinks – including an expensive bottle of whiskey. They would be able to get their own food and drink and wouldn’t need a flight attendant. Lucifer didn’t want too many strangers traveling with them. Well, that and because of his nightmares.</p>
<p>More than eighteen hours stuck in a tin can without much to do was going to be tough on Lucifer’s nerves. He had never taken a plane before in his whole life – who needs to take a plane when you have a pair of wings attached to your back? – and this experience made him nervous. </p>
<p>Chloe climbed on board, followed by Akuma. Lucifer entered last, Amina in his arms. The interior was incredibly luxurious with white leathery comfy seats, wood tables and a soft grey carpet all over the floor.</p>
<p>Chloe and Lucifer sat side by side while Amina sat in the seat facing them, the Stitch plush on her lap. Akuma lay down on the seat beside her. Lucifer had put a blanket over the seat to make sure the dog wouldn’t scratch the leather. Chloe immediately removed her shoes and Amina did the same, both girls wiggling their toes, smiling.</p>
<p>“I wished I could do the same,” Lucifer sighed.</p>
<p>“You can remove your prostheses,” Chloe answered.</p>
<p>“Not now. Maybe later.” Lucifer rejoined, taking a look around the plane. Noticing that the seats, while comfortable, came equipped with armrests that couldn’t be lifted. That just would not do. Turning to Chloe, he said, “I don’t want to spend the whole flight separated from you by an armrest. I saw a couch in the back that we could all fit on.”</p>
<p>“Oh, okay,” she agreed when she sat back down next to Lucifer after making sure Amina was buckled in properly. “After take off we’ll go get settled there if you want.”</p>
<p>Waiting for the flight to take off and to distract Lucifer from his nervousness, they started a Monopoly game on the iPad. Trixie had discovered it last week, searching for games Amina could download that didn't need an internet connection to play. The advantage of the game was that she didn’t need to understand all the writings on the cards since the actions were done by themselves.</p>
<p>The animations were really well done and the game was almost funnier because of them. Trixie had been disappointed when they had tried it though, because she was unable to bend the rules to make deals with the Devil.</p>
<p>When the game ended, they had reached their cruising altitude. They all unbuckled and went to the long couch. Lucifer sat in the middle, a girl on either side.</p>
<p>Not waiting any longer, Lucifer took off his suit jacket and unzipped the legs of his pants to remove his prostheses and the liners. Those long zippers hidden in the seams were really useful in situations like this where he couldn’t remove his pants.</p>
<p>When he finished, Chloe put his prostheses away while he zipped his pants closed. When Chloe returned, she noticed that Amina had tears in her eyes. Since she couldn’t ask her what was wrong, she informed Lucifer of Amina’s state.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong, Amina?” he asked, turning towards her.</p>
<p>“Your feet… I didn’t know… how?” she said between sobs, her eyes never leaving his legs.</p>
<p>Lucifer realized that Amina had never seen him without his prostheses. She probably never realized he was an amputee. His bionic feet were such a part of him now that with long pants, it was hard to notice.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry!” Lucifer immediately apologized. “I will put them back on if you don’t–“</p>
<p>“–No, no! It’s not that! It’s just that it reminds me…” She sobbed harder. “I– I keep seeing Orupi’s… I…” She stopped, unable to continue. </p>
<p>Of course she had been traumatized by her brother being amputated in front of her. Why did he not think of that? He saw the scene in Orupi’s loop. He pulled her closer to him, stroking her hair with one hand and rubbing her shoulder with the other.</p>
<p>“Shhh, I know Amina, I know. I’m so sorry for what happened to your brother. I don’t know what to say.”</p>
<p>“How… what happened to you?” she asked when she had calmed down a little.</p>
<p>“I was tortured too, but it was different for me. My feet had been burned too badly and the doctors had to amputate them.”</p>
<p>“Have the people who did this to you been punished?”</p>
<p>“Yes, they have been.”</p>
<p>“The people who did that to Orupi will be punished too, uh?”</p>
<p>“Yes they will.” He was not sure if the LAPD would find them, but a Hell loop was certainly awaiting them at the end. He wished he could take care of their punishment himself, but knew he would not have the strength for it.</p>
<p>Amina nodded, satisfied.</p>
<p>“You know,” Lucifer added, “Orupi had his feet returned to him when he arrived in Heaven. He’s not an amputee anymore.”</p>
<p>“Really? That’s nice.” Amina heaved a great sigh, feeling a great relief to know her brother was whole and happy in Heaven.</p>
<p>“Yes, it is. Do you want me to put my bionic feet back on? If it disturbs you, I don’t mind to–”</p>
<p>“–No, that’s fine. I’m okay now.” She smiled. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>Chloe couldn’t understand their conversation, but she saw how Lucifer soothed Amina. The gentleness he could have at times was baffling.</p>
<p>“You’re good with children.” she told him with a warm smile. “You would be a great father.”</p>
<p>Lucifer seemed horrified. “Don’t even think about it!”</p>
<p>“That’s not what I meant! Trixie is plenty enough for me and I don’t want another child – unless you want it of course. I’m just saying that despite what you always said about children, you’re good with them. I see it with Trix too.”</p>
<p>“Your urchin is different. Amina is different too.”</p>
<p>“They are not that different from any other children, Lucifer. You just took the time to get to know them.”</p>
<p>He shrugged but didn’t answer. An awkward silence followed and Chloe finally took the remote to turn on the TV in front of them. She looked at the choice of movies and picked a random movie with pandas. All kids loved pandas and even if Lucifer was too tired to translate, Amina would be able to enjoy it.</p>
<p>As she suspected, Lucifer fell asleep less than half an hour later. He had not said a word since the beginning of the movie, not even to complain about her choice. He just remained cuddled to her, like if he was seeking her warmth. Maybe he was. He was still colder than his usual self. Chloe had put a blanket on their lap but maybe it wasn’t enough.</p>
<p>One hour later, he snapped awake, panting and shaking, barely holding back a scream. He didn’t want to scare the girl. Chloe rubbed his chest in soothing motions, knowing there was not much she could say. </p>
<p>“Were you dreaming about your feet?” Amina asked with a little voice.</p>
<p>“Sometimes but not this time.” he answered softly, still shivering . “I– I prefer not to talk about it.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay. I often dream about Orupi’s feet, you know, but it’s a little better now. I’m sure it will get better for you too.”</p>
<p>Lucifer smiled at the reassurance Amina was trying to give him and he patted her head. She had a beautiful soul, he thought. He looked at the TV screen, where the film’s credits were scrolling, but his mind was elsewhere, far far away.</p>
<p>“Are you hungry? Do you want a snack or something?” Chloe asked him.</p>
<p>“No, I– I would take a whiskey… if you don’t mind.” He turned toward Amina to ask her if she wanted to eat or drink. “Amina says she would take a snack and grape juice.”</p>
<p>“I’ll be right back.”</p>
<p>Chloe came back a few minutes later, hands full.</p>
<p>“I brought you a package of Cool Ranch Puff in case you change your mind,” she said, handing him a tumbler half full of whiskey.</p>
<p>“Before you sit, would you bring me another blanket, please?” he asked her.</p>
<p>“Of course!”</p>
<p>Chloe put the blanket over Lucifer’s shoulders wrapping him in it. They remained in silence for a while, Amina drawing on her IPad. At ten thirty, Chloe told Lucifer that she thought maybe it  was time for Amina to try and get some rest. When Lucifer suggested that she should get some sleep, Amina’s face changed.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong?” he asked her. “You need to sleep if you want to keep up your strength for tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“You’re right. It’s… it’s nothing”</p>
<p>Lucifer frowned. “I can see something is bothering you. You can tell me, you know?”</p>
<p>“I– I don’t want to sleep alone.” She looked up at him with wide frightened eyes, swimming in tears.</p>
<p>“You are not alone. We will be right beside you,” he assured her. Then he had a thought. “Do you want Akuma to sleep with you?”</p>
<p>“But you…”</p>
<p>“It’ll be fine for one night. I will sleep with Chloe here.”</p>
<p>“Okay then. If you really don’t mind.” When Lucifer nodded his head, Amina smiled back at him. She had come to really love the dog and was happy to take all the comfort he could provide.</p>
<p>Chloe settled Amina on the closest seat to them, Akuma laying between the girl and the armrest. Those seats had been laid flat to be able to sleep on them comfortably. She came back to the couch to find Lucifer kneeling beside it.</p>
<p>“What are you doing?”</p>
<p>“This couch can be made into a bed. You just have to unclip the top and pull on it. I would help you but I’m too lazy to put my feet back on.”</p>
<p>Lucifer, lazy. He was everything <em>but</em> lazy. <em>Don’t think about this,</em> she scowled herself. “That’s okay. I’ll manage.” she simply answered.</p>
<p>Once it had been turned into a bed, she pulled out a comforter from a closet and they settled down for the night.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Of course Lucifer had nightmares. But Amina did too. They ended up with all three of them, plus Akuma, on the small bed, almost on top of each other. If Chloe and Amina were almost too warm in the morning, Lucifer was still cold and refused to leave the comforter.</p>
<p>Chloe got breakfast for everyone but Lucifer ate almost nothing.</p>
<p>“You must eat, Honey. It won’t help get your energy back if you don’t.”</p>
<p>“Sorry, maybe later. I’m not hungry at the moment.”</p>
<p>Chloe didn’t argue but it was hard to look at him like this. He seemed to decline hour after hour and she was more and more afraid that Dan had been right.</p>
<p>“You can talk to me, you know. Tell me what’s wrong,” she assured him.</p>
<p>He shook his head. “I know, really I do but I don’t want to talk about this now.”</p>
<p>“If you change your mind, I’m here for you.”</p>
<p>He nodded, but didn’t answer.</p>
<p>She didn’t push. She didn’t really want to know what ‘this’ was.</p>
<p>After breakfast, Amina settled with her iPad in a seat and Chloe took a book she had brought intending to read a little. When Lucifer saw that she wasn’t coming back, he called out to her. “Would you stay with me? It’s fine if you read, but I'd like to be close to you.”</p>
<p>“Yeah sure.”</p>
<p>Chloe ended up spending a majority of the flight in bed, Lucifer doing anything but cuddling beside her. He tossed and turned for hours and only dozed off and on. At least, he ate a little at lunch, but Chloe could see it was more to please her than because he was hungry.</p>
<p>Lucifer only put his prostheses on when it was time to sit for landing. He decided to not put on his suit’s jacket though and Chloe rolled it up and put it in the backpack. Lucifer gave her an horrified look, but she assured him once again that it wouldn’t be too wrinkled. <em>At least not more than you,</em> she didn’t say.</p>
<p>When Lucifer rose to head back to his seat, he was struck with a sudden bout of lightheadedness and swayed on his feet. Having spent the whole flight sitting or lying down, not even getting up once, he had to secure himself on the wall to avoid falling down where he stood.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Not very long after they had settled back into their seats, they finally landed and were able to quit the plane. They had to wait for Orupi’s coffin to be transferred from one plane to another. With Lucifer’s contacts, and money, the paperwork for transporting a body were all in order and they would be able to take off as soon as possible. For them, it was the middle of the afternoon, but it was not even mid-morning in Micronesia. It was going to be a long day. The sky was menacing, with dark clouds towards the west, which was the same direction they were heading. </p>
<p>As they were transferring from the Bombardier plane to a smaller one – a DHC-4 Caribou, Chloe looked at Lucifer’s gait, almost as unsure as Amina’s, like his legs were too heavy for him. Was it only because he had barely moved in the last twenty hours or because his tiredness was even worse than when they left? Once again, she didn’t ask.</p>
<p>The plane was more of a cargo plane than a passenger one and they were sitting on one side of the plane, buckled in uncomfortable and way too short seats while the coffin was at their feet, strapped on the opposite side. Even if it was written all over his face, Lucifer didn’t complain about their lack of comfort. This plane hadn’t been chosen for its comfort but only because it was one of the few that could carry them and the coffin, and land on a less than 1,500ft landing strip.</p>
<p>The last flight didn’t even take an hour but it seemed a lot longer than the first one. Lucifer was tense the whole trip, each bump and jolt putting his nerves more on edge.</p>
<p>“Bloody Hell! What's wrong with this plane?” he asked about halfway through the flight.</p>
<p>“Nothing’s wrong Lucifer. It’s raining and the plane is small. This is perfectly normal.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’m smaller than this plane and I don’t have turbulence problems when I fly. Or barely. At least, not like this!”</p>
<p>“Relax Lucifer. Everything will be fine.”</p>
<p>Everything went fine indeed, except that soon after landing, the weather worsened and it started raining buckets. Chloe tried to see through the rain but the airfield seemed to have no installation at all. Except for the runway, everywhere she looked showed only forest. </p>
<p>A large quad vehicle with tires suitable for driving over rough terrain and equipped with a small cargo area suddenly appeared and stopped beside the plane. Two men were on board. The passenger yelled something but Chloe couldn’t understand what he was saying. She didn’t even think it was English. She turned to ask Lucifer to come closer.</p>
<p>“I’m not a bloody duck! I am not going out in this shower,” he exclaimed, looking out the window at the downpour.</p>
<p>“You never complained about rain before,” she frowned.</p>
<p>“Well, now I am.”</p>
<p>“You can’t, I don’t know… ask your Father to stop it?” she asked, looking up. She couldn’t believe she was actually asking this.</p>
<p>“Pfft, I’ve already told you Dad isn’t meteorologically inclined,” he scoffed.</p>
<p>“Anyway,” Chloe continued, “I just want to know if you can understand what he’s saying.” She pointed towards the quad a few feet from them. She waved at the man who started talking again.</p>
<p>“He wants to know if we can help them load the trailer with Orupi’s coffin.” he reported.</p>
<p>“Was that English?”</p>
<p>“A mix of English and Chuukese, but he seemed to speak neither of them well.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Of course they didn't think to bring an umbrella or raincoats with everything they already had  to carry. And the men in the quad didn’t seem bothered by the rain, the older man was shirtless and the younger was wearing only a t-shirt. Both were wearing a kind of skirt made with a long stripe of fabric instead of pants. By the time the coffin was on the trailer, everyone was soaked except Amina and Akuma who had waited on the plane. </p>
<p>Lucifer seemed on the verge to collapse after the effort but managed to get in the quad. Something was definitely wrong with him but once again, Chloe pushed her fears deep down.</p>
<p>Not far from the end of the runway, as promised, a boat was waiting for them. Well, a boat was being generous. It was a kind of big canoe made of wood with an appendage on the side about the size of a palm tree. Reminiscent of the hawaiian outrigger boats, with the addition of a huge sail – like the ones of arabian dhows. The sail was many times bigger than the boat itself making the boat look more ready to fly than to navigate waters.</p>
<p>Lucifer didn’t say a word, but Chloe could see how horrified he was by their ‘boat’. Well, it was too late to do anything about it at this point, so Lucifer had to swallow down his objections and continue with the journey. They transferred the coffin and their belongings onto the boat, covering everything with a large tarpaulin but they didn’t settle inside right away, the older man, Agrup, said they needed to eat first.</p>
<p>The rain had stopped at least and they took the quad, driving on the beach, to go to the only village on the island. The sun was so hot that their damp clothes were half dried by the time they arrived. The island consisted of a few businesses and houses, a Catholic church, but not a single road. Barely a few trails in the tropical forest.</p>
<p>They sat in what could be called a restaurant, but it was more like a small community hall. A few people there recognized the two men and they started chatting in a mix of Chuukese and English, with translation in Satawalese from time to time. It appeared that the men who were accompanying them were Amina’s uncle and his son. They were both sailor men.</p>
<p>They didn’t order the food <em>per se,</em> the food came to them. Lucifer didn’t intend to eat at first, not being hungry and too tired, but when the food arrived, it smelled so good that he changed his mind. Large plates of fresh fish and rice mainly, but with some delicious kind of light brown balls and a strange almost white mixture served in a banana leaf. All this cooked without even having electricity. Chloe was impressed. Except for the rice, she had no idea what she was eating – not even what species of fish –, but it was delicious. Maybe Lucifer knew, but for once he was eating with appetite and she was not going to disturb him to ask  what it was.</p>
<p>After lunch, they got back in the quad to return to the boat and settle in for the ride. Chloe and Lucifer were in the front, the coffin in the middle and Amina stayed with the two men in the back. The girl was just so happy to see some family members and Lucifer agreed that it would be best if she stayed with them.</p>
<p>Lucifer asked how long it would take to reach the island. He shouldn’t have. He was told it would take about eighteen hours at best, but usually more like twenty-four, depending on the wind. He was sorry he asked.</p>
<p>Chloe and Lucifer sat side-by-side, Akuma having just enough space to lay down beside Lucifer. Even though the temperature was really hot, Chloe wrapped them with a blanket she had kept from the first plane. She brought it because Lucifer was cold, and she wanted to avoid sunburns. Thankfully, she had thought to bring a large hat.</p>
<p>“Do you want to remove your prostheses?” Chloe asked. “There’s not so much room but–”</p>
<p>“–No. I prefer to keep them on in case the weather gets bad again. Despite its rudimentary look, the boat is comfortable enough.”</p>
<p>“As you wish.”</p>
<p>They didn’t have much to do nor much to see except the ocean so they talked. </p>
<p>It started with an anecdote and soon, they were telling each other every funny moment they had shared together. Now that Chloe knew the truth, some moments made so much sense. They talked all afternoon. The lunch had given Lucifer back some energy, but it didn’t last long. From time to time, he would drift off to sleep  but he had asked Chloe to not let him dream so she woke him up after fifteen or twenty minutes, just to make sure. </p>
<p>As the sun was getting lower, the younger man, Sesario, brought them some dried fish and meat. Lucifer thanked him but didn’t eat. The simple sight of it made him nauseated.</p>
<p>“I have brought some snacks from the first plane. Do you want something?” Chloe asked him.</p>
<p>“Not now.”</p>
<p>They remained silent for a while, listening to the water lapping against the boat. The wind was hot and smelled of salt. The sun slowly drifted towards the horizon and the low clouds took beautiful pinks and oranges hues.</p>
<p>“I love sunsets.” Lucifer said, dreamily. “It’s one of the most beautiful things on Earth – except you of course.”</p>
<p>Chloe laughed. “Still in love aren’t we?”</p>
<p>“Always.”</p>
<p>They kept watching in silence until the sun was long gone and the sky was darkening.</p>
<p>“I will try to sleep a little.” Lucifer said. “If you see me agitated, wake me up.”</p>
<p>“Sure.”</p>
<p>He slept for over an hour and half before Chloe had to wake him up. His skin was like ice so Chloe put the second blanket she had brought over him. She couldn’t see much, just enough to be able to locate things that were closest to her. The night was now pitch black and they could see absolutely nothing outside the boat.</p>
<p>“How do they know if we are going in the right direction?” Chloe asked.</p>
<p>“Navigating by the stars, probably,” Lucifer answered sleepily.</p>
<p>Chloe looked up and gasped. She had never seen the sky like that before. LA’s sky was never really dark with all those buildings and their artificial light. The sky above them now wasn’t dark either but for another reason entirely. Millions, no zillions of stars were lighting it. The Milky Way was a light ribbon against the sky, something she had never seen except in pictures.</p>
<p>“Wow!” she let out, in a breath. “It’s amazing!”</p>
<p>“I did a good job, didn’t I?”</p>
<p><em>Oh my G.., of course,</em> she thought. He was the Lightbringer. He had lit them all.</p>
<p>“This is the most incredible thing ever created, Lucifer.”</p>
<p>“No, <em>that</em> was you,” he whispered, his eyes remained closed.</p>
<p>Chloe was glad for the darkness. She didn’t want Lucifer to see the tears that silently spilled down her cheeks. She knew something was wrong, knew he was holding something back but when he said things like that, her love for him grew by leaps and bounds. She wiped her eyes and snuggled down next to him and held him close.</p>
<p>Minutes later, he was asleep. Chloe fell asleep not long after.</p>
<p>She woke up freezing. How long had she slept? She tried to check the time on her phone but her cell was dead. It was still night time but she had the feeling that the sky was a little lighter towards the east. She sat up straighter. Lucifer hadn’t had a nightmare for the whole night?</p>
<p>It’s then that she realized something. It was Lucifer who had made her feel so cold, not the surrounding air, that was still warm. Could a living thing be so cold? Panic struck her. Unable to see if he was still breathing, she searched for his pulse in his neck. She found it after way too many seconds. It was weak, but regular. Maybe it was a good thing that he was finally sleeping without nightmares? Maybe he would regain some energy? It was a good thing, right? she tried to convince herself.</p>
<p>She stayed laying beside him until her stomach began to rumble. There were some snacks left in the backpack at her feet. She stood up slowly to get them. The sky was definitely getting lighter.</p>
<p>She was searching for a cereal bar when she heard a characteristic sound. A swish she usually heard on special occasions. She turned back around but it took some time to realize that she had heard correctly. She was expecting to see a glowing. Or at least some of it. There was none. It was still dark enough that even the faintest glow would have appeared as a lamp.</p>
<p>She hurried back beside him, trying to wake him up.</p>
<p>“Lucifer!” she hissed, “Your wings! You can’t have them out!”</p>
<p>She realized he was totally limp and unresponsive. She checked for his pulse and sighed with relief when she found it. Weak, but there. With a sudden flash, she removed the blankets over his right arm, rolled up his sleeve and unwrapped the celestial bandage. Her worst fear was there, in front of her.</p>
<p>Within the writing of the branding, there were no flames anymore. Only a few dark red, faintly glowing embers. No! No! NO! It couldn’t be! Wrapping his forearm back up, trying not to give in to a full blown panic attack, she tried to analyze the situation as she would do on a crime scene. </p>
<p>She was on a boat in the middle of nowhere, not knowing how much time it would take before they reached land. The two other adults on the boat were strangers who were not ‘in the know’ and Lucifer was unconscious and had his wings out. Worse, she was unable to give them any explanation, their English too basic for this celestial craziness.</p>
<p>Chloe did the only thing she could think of. </p>
<p>She prayed.</p>
<p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know, I know, I'm hard on Lucifer (and you). I hope you still like the story nevertheless!</p>
<p>If you don't know what a DHC-4 Caribou interior look like, you should Google it... XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. I have always loved you, always</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the delay. There was a lot of work to be done on this chapter. A huge thanks to my betas for this chapter, LoveDevilKing and Fox_2005. They are wonderful!</p><p>By the way, I cried while writing this chapter. You've been warned...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She didn’t expect an answer. </p><p>She didn’t get one but the wind was stronger than it was minutes ago. Way stronger. A coincidence, right? Did the fact that they would arrive on the island faster change anything? She didn’t see how its inhabitants could help Lucifer. His arrival with wings would already cause a shock by itself. People were usually afraid of what they didn’t understand. And being afraid often led to aggression. She had seen it too much.</p><p>The stars were fading slowly. <em>Like their creator</em>, Chloe couldn’t help but think. With nothing else to do, she sat beside Lucifer, holding his hand and waited. Shivering at the contact, his hands were way too cold. Keeping her vigil, listening to his breathing, hoping for a miracle, she passed the remainder of the night. Akuma hadn’t moved, still lying next to his master.</p><p>Even if she couldn’t see much, it was obvious they were sailing much faster. She was just hoping the sea would remain calm and that no storm would suddenly come up.</p><p>As the sky lightened and she could see more, Chloe became aware that the flapping sound she had been hearing since she had woken up wasn’t coming from the sail but from Lucifer’s wings. They were slightly hovering over the water, flapping in the wind. She tried to pull on them to bring them back in the boat but to no avail. At least they were not touching the water and were just flapping a little.</p><p>The sunrise was beautiful. Pure. Not a single cloud anywhere she looked. Despite the orange hue the sun was giving to everything, Lucifer’s skin remained grey. Death-like. She was not looking at a healthy living being but someone closer to death.</p><p>Amina suddenly appeared from the other end of the boat. “Home soon!” she said with a large smile.</p><p>Chloe smiled back at her. A little smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks.”</p><p>Amina seemed to notice the wings, frowned and said something in her language Chloe couldn’t understand. Chloe put her hands in the air in a helpless gesture. Amina seemed to think for a moment before repeating, “Home soon.” She smiled again, gave her a thumb up and added, “Home Lucifer okay. Good, good.”</p><p>“I hope so,” Chloe whispered.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The boat landed smoothly on the beach and it seemed that within a minute, all the inhabitants of the island had made their way to the boat. Sesario helped Amina to get out and a woman and a man ran toward her, followed by two small children. <em>Her family</em>, Chloe thought before returning her attention to the others on the beach. She sighed, not daring to leave Lucifer’s side. Waiting for the islanders’ reaction when they would notice him. Notice the wings.</p><p>First, a woman came to her and Chloe held her breath. Wearing only a large skirt, the woman smiled at her, glanced at Lucifer and nodded, turning around. She said something in her langage and turned back to Chloe, gesturing for her to get out of the boat with her hands. The woman seemed very old, Chloe thought, or maybe it was just the sun that had aged her prematurely. </p><p>Despite the woman's lack of reaction to Lucifer, – didn’t she notice his wings? –, Chloe hesitated to leave Lucifer’s side. She checked Lucifer’s pulse once more – weaker than it was before and now irregular – and turned towards Akuma. “Protect him, okay?” The dog let out a soft bark as an answer.</p><p>Chloe slowly got out of the boat as six huge men came closer, carrying a large tarpaulin that they stretched beside the boat. Four of them climbed in the boat while the others stayed on the beach.</p><p>The men seemed to wonder for a moment how to maneuver Lucifer out of the boat with his huge wings but none of them seemed surprised to see an unconscious man with wings arriving on their island. Chloe couldn’t understand what they were saying, but their tone was calm, not the agitated tone she would expect in a stressful situation. </p><p>Carefully, they managed to get Lucifer’s wings closer to his body before lifting him out of the boat. Helped by the two men on the beach, they laid Lucifer gently on the tarpaulin. The six of them then took the corners and both sides of the tarpaulin and began to walk towards the village. Akuma and Chloe followed.</p><p>Chloe was baffled. How could those people not react more to a man with huge wings? Chloe remembered that Amina had only shown admiration towards Lucifer knowing he was an angel. Maybe the people here were more open minded than most people in cities. Or maybe this was not the first time an angel had visited their island. Unable to ask them, she wouldn’t know unless Lucifer miraculously woke up.</p><p>To Chloe’s surprise, the men passed the village and took a short trail leading deeper in the forest. The trail was neatly delineated with stones. A round hut stood at the end, looking almost like a sanctuary. About twenty feet in diameter, it had a large opening in front with strange decorations painted on each side. The roof seemed to be made of many layers of palm leaves and the walls were constructed from long stems tightly tied together. Looking closer as they crossed the threshold, Chloe noticed that the decorations looked more like sigils. Where were they taking them? </p><p>It was dark inside, and Chloe had to take a moment to let her eyes adjust. Except for the large front opening, which faced west, there were no other doors or windows. Here and there, thin rays of morning light passed through the walls, the dust caught in them dancing like miniature stars. The ambiance was quiet, peaceful, and despite the strangeness of the situation, Chloe felt suddenly calm. In the middle of the hut, a large mat had been placed directly on the dirt floor and the men carefully laid Lucifer on it. They bowed toward Lucifer, bending low at the waist, similar to how the Japanese would show respect, before turning and doing the same towards Chloe before leaving.</p><p>Chloe didn’t have time to wonder what was happening when the old woman she saw earlier entered the hut, followed by two younger women carrying a large bowl and towels. The old woman kneeled beside Lucifer’s head and took his pulse. After a few moments, she turned to one of the women and took the towels from her, speaking rapidly. The young woman nodded and ran out of the hut while the other one put the water bowl on the floor before following the first one with the same eagerness.</p><p>After trying to see how she could remove Lucifer’s shirt, the woman took out a knife from a bag around her hips and started cutting it. She was careful to not step on the wings as she worked. Chloe was glad that Lucifer was unconscious when she thought about how he would have been offended to see his Prada shirt ruined like this. When all remnants of the shirt had been removed, the old lady carefully untied Lucifer’s hand splints and removed them. She handed them to Chloe in a reverent manner like they were a precious treasure. </p><p>When the woman started to unwrap the bandage around Lucifer’s forearm, Chloe stopped her. The woman gently grabbed Chloe’s hand and smiled before removing it from her arm. She started unwrapping again, looked at the branding and nodding as if she expected what she saw. She folded the bandage neatly and gave it to Chloe, the same way she had given her the splints.</p><p>Okay. Something was definitely weird. </p><p>When she finished with his upper body, she started cutting Lucifer’s pants, leaving him completely nude, Lucifer never wore underwear. The woman seemed puzzled for a moment with Lucifer’s protheses and with many hand gestures, managed to ask Chloe to remove them.</p><p>Chloe had no idea why the woman wanted Lucifer completely nude like this. He was freezing and needed to be covered, not naked. She did as the woman asked though, because she seemed to know what she was doing and because arguing would be useless. The woman couldn’t understand her. Lucifer may be dying and there was not much she could do about it. Whatever this woman was doing, if it could help Lucifer, Chloe was not going to interfere.</p><p>When Chloe finished, she placed the prostheses along the wall. The old woman had soaked a washcloth and had already started washing Lucifer with it. Chloe stretched one hand towards the woman and pointed at herself with the other, indicating that she would like to be the one to wash him. The woman nodded and handed her the washcloth with a smile. She stood up, bent at the waist and left without a word.</p><p>Chloe gently rubbed Lucifer’s skin with the washcloth, trying to warm him in the process. His onyx ring on the chain around his neck – a gift from God, she remembered – reflected the lights of the little lamps someone had lit, all around the hut. In other circumstances, it could have been a sensual moment between them, but now she was crying instead, afraid to lose him at any moment. The time between his shallow breaths seemed to take a little longer every minute and she knew he wouldn’t last until evening. Probably not even until noon.</p><p>Washing over the round scars below his collarbones, she thought about how much he hated those. He usually didn’t want to be caressed there. Most of his scars had disappeared after he gained his invulnerability back except the few that had been made with Hell forged blades, including the two huge holes where the chains passed through his body to hold him prisoner. Of course the holes had closed but the scars were still there, permanent reminders of two centuries of suffering. The only scars that hadn't been made by demon blades and were still present were those of his amputations. Self-actualization could be weird sometimes.</p><p>Chloe shivered at the sight of the branding, almost all dark now. She wasn’t even sure it would burn the washcloth if she touched it. There was no light left to burn and the fire had been extinguished by the lack of fuel. Fuel that was the soul of her boyfriend. The man she would lose in a few hours. Maybe even minutes.</p><p><em>Don’t think about that</em>, she scolded herself. Easier said than done.</p><p>Akuma didn’t want to leave Lucifer’s side either and she had to push him away to finish washing him. The dog sat beside his master, just at the edge of his wings, waiting to have the permission to return to his place by his side.</p><p>Chloe had almost finished when the old lady returned with a few other old men and women. The hut rapidly became filled with people. A few were carrying bowls and other stuff like banana leaves.</p><p>The old woman signified to Chloe to step aside and she kneeled beside Lucifer once again. Taking a brush, she dipped it in one of the bowls and started painting black lines on Lucifer’s body. A line went from his left hand to the beginning of the branding and two others from the bottom of his stumps to the branding. As the old woman worked, the men in the hut began chanting. The melody started low and there seemed to be no words.The ambience in the room became thick with expectation as the women joined in with the men. As they continued to chant, everyone began to sway. Chloe looked on in fascination but returned her eyes to Lucifer as the old woman continued drawing her symbols.  </p><p>When the woman started drawing a pentagram on his torso and other various symbols on his chest and forehead, Chloe panicked and tried to interfere. Were they preparing an exorcism? She couldn’t help but think about Father Kinley and how he had planned to send Lucifer back to Hell.</p><p>A huge man prevented Chloe from getting closer to Lucifer. He held her firmly but didn’t hurt her. He shook his head with an apologetic look, saying something Chloe couldn’t understand.</p><p>Chloe forced herself to breathe. What were her options? At least twenty islanders were in the hut and she was alone. She had Akuma but still, the dog didn’t understand what was going on right now and had stayed beside Lucifer’s wing. Chloe didn’t have her gun, it would have been too complicated to bring it so she was basically defenseless. She huffed a frustrated breath and returned her attention to the old woman who had stepped back as a young man wearing leather gloves and carrying a kind of pitcher came closer.</p><p>And the world seemed to stop.</p><p>The man bent and started pouring a liquid on Lucifer’s branding. The liquid boiled and foamed on the skin surface and swirls of smoke appeared. Lucifer – who had remained completely limp since their arrival on the island – started to moan and to writhe in pain. As the man continued to pour the liquid, Lucifer kept moaning for several seconds until his breath suddenly hitched.</p><p>And then nothing. No more moaning. No more movement.</p><p>No more breathing. </p><p>Even in the dim light, Chloe could see Lucifer’s lips turning blue. “No!” she screamed. It couldn’t end like this! Furious, she managed to slip from the man who was still holding her and rushed to Lucifer, bumping the young man who was holding the pitcher and spilling some of its contents in the process. She kneeled beside Lucifer.</p><p>“Lucifer! You need to breathe! Please Honey! Breathe!” She sobbed, caressing his cheek gently then shaking him. “C’mon, Lucifer! Breathe for me! Please!” Tears spilled down her cheeks to drop onto the floor by his head.</p><p>Getting no reaction, Chloe tilted Lucifer’s head backward and started blowing in his mouth. Once, twice. She knew that within minutes, his heart would stop if he didn’t start breathing. She rubbed his solar plexus with her knuckles and felt for his pulse. It was still there but weaker than ever.</p><p>“Breathe Lucifer! You can’t leave me!”</p><p>Chloe gave him another rescue breath, hoping for a miracle. She turned her head toward the ceiling and yelled. “You can’t let him die! Please God, do something!”</p><p>Except for Chloe’s pleading and sobbing, complete silence had descended upon the hut. No one was moving or speaking. Desperate, Chloe put her forehead against Lucifer’s chest. It couldn’t end like this. It couldn’t! One minute, an hour passed, at least it felt like it, while Chloe clutched Lucifer’s lifeless body, willing him not to leave her</p><p>And then a miracle happened.</p><p>One shallow, raspy breath. </p><p>Chloe lifted her head, eyes filled with tears and hope. She searched for his pulse again. Irregular, way too weak, but there. A second breath. A little stronger than the first one.</p><p>“Yes, Honey! That’s it! Keep going!”</p><p>Chloe put her hand in Lucifer’s hair and stopped her movement, surprised. In his hair, a white forelock had mysteriously appeared. She didn’t know when that happened, but it sure wasn’t there when she washed him. Self-actualization probably. She couldn’t help but smile through her tears. Would Lucifer be horrified or pleased by it? She thought it gave him a sexy look. Well, sexier. <em>How could you think about a sexy look in a moment like this?</em> she thought, discouraged.</p><p>She came back to reality when she felt someone gently pulling her backward. She made sure that Lucifer was still breathing before standing. As she stepped back, she noticed that the old woman was using a spatula to apply a white paste on Lucifer’s branding. </p><p>The huge man who had held her said something and gestured towards her left arm. She frowned and looked at what the man was pointing at. When she saw it, her brain finally caught up to her body and the pain struck her. There was a red patch covered with blisters on her elbow. Not so big, just a few square inches, but damned painful. When she had rushed to Lucifer and bumped into the young man holding the pitcher, some of the liquid must have spilled on her. She had been too worried to notice it at the moment. But now...</p><p>She grimaced and barely restrained herself from touching it. She knew it would make things worse. She needed some water to remove all remnants of the liquid. Before she could move though, the huge man gently guided her towards a young woman and showed her Chloe’s elbow. The lady nodded and left hurriedly. Meanwhile, someone poured what looked like water on the wound before they made her sit on the floor.</p><p>Less than two minutes later, the young woman was back and she started to tend to the burn. She applied some gel from a small bowl – probably aloe – and she covered Chloe’s elbow with a white bandage. It was still hurting but it already felt a lot better.</p><p>When they finished taking care of her wound, Chloe stood up to return to Lucifer. His right forearm was now entirely wrapped in what looked like banana’s leaves held in place by a thin rope. Why use banana leaves and rope when they have regular bandages?</p><p>They were searching for something beneath Lucifer wings and Chloe gasped in horror when she saw what it was. Restraints. Hidden in the dirt floor. Lucifer's left hand was already locked in it, with the inside of his forearm toward the ceiling. As they were locking his right hand in, Chloe could see it was some kind of handle. They wrapped Lucifer’s fingers around it and closed a metal shell covering his hand entirely, locking it with a huge key.</p><p>“No! Don’t!” she shouted, trying to get their attention. “Why are you doing this?! He hates to be restrained!”</p><p>Of course no one understood her. And she didn’t understand what they were saying either. It seemed like every few minutes, she changed her mind about these people. Did they want to help Lucifer or not? Were they afraid of him or venerating him? Akuma hadn’t moved from his spot since the beginning and she was hoping that if he had sensed a threat for his master, he would have intervened.</p><p>She tried to pull on the restraints but they wouldn’t budge. It was as if they were made specifically for celestial strength. A soft hand landed on her shoulder. Chloe looked up to see the old woman staring at her with an apologetic look. She gently took Chloe’s hand and removed it from the restraint, shaking her head. What Chloe wouldn’t give to understand what was going on. They really seemed to want to help Lucifer – the way they were acting towards him showed only respect – but why restrain him? She looked again at the wrapping around Lucifer’s right forearm and wondered what they had done to the branding mark. Did they extinguish the burning? Did these people succeed where Lucifer’s siblings, Maze and even God had failed?</p><p>Chloe sighed and took a deep breath. While he was unconscious, Lucifer wouldn’t care that he was restrained. If he woke up – no, when he woke up – he’d be able to understand what was going on and act accordingly. She had to believe this.</p><p>She laid beside him, along the left side of his body, listening to his now more steady breathing. He was still cold, but the temperature in the hut was so hot that it felt refreshing. She had her personal air conditioning instead of her personal heater. Akuma laid down on the other side of his master and put his snout in Lucifer’s neck.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Chloe woke up, feeling someone shaking her shoulder. She didn’t remember falling asleep but was not surprised. The last few hours had been stressful. She lifted her head to see Amina bent over her. </p><p>“Dinner’s ready!” the young girl said with a smile.</p><p>Chloe smiled back at her. She sounded so much like Trixie saying that. It was not really dinner’s time obviously – the sun was still bright – but it was probably the only sentence she memorized to indicate eating time. Someone had covered them with a blanket while she was sleeping. Lucifer seemed less cold than he was, but still way colder than he should be.</p><p>“Come, come!” Amina pressed, waving toward the door.</p><p>Chloe shook her head. “Sorry,” she said. “I want to stay with Lucifer,” she added, pointing at him.</p><p>Amina frowned, seemed to think for a moment and said, “Lucifer sleep. Many sleep. Chloe eat. Neema look.” She pointed again towards the door and Chloe noticed a young woman sitting right beside the door.</p><p>Chloe pointed toward the woman. “Neema?” she asked.</p><p>“Yes. Neema look. Lucifer okay.”</p><p>Chloe nodded. She didn’t want to leave Lucifer, but she must admit she was hungry. She hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Lucifer’s breathing was even and he seemed better than when she fell asleep. Well, better was a little optimistic, but at least, not on the brink of death as he was. She caressed his white strand and kissed him on the forehead. “I’ll be back soon,” she whispered. </p><p>When she stood up, the pain from the wound on her elbow flared up but she took a deep breath and forced herself to follow Amina. The latter was using wooden crutches to walk, her legs still not strong enough to hold her properly.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The lunch was simple but delicious. Fresh fish, fresh vegetables she couldn’t identify and some rice. As soon as she finished eating, she thanked them and returned to the hut. She brought Akuma some food since the dog had stayed behind with his master. </p><p>While Akuma was eating, Chloe searched in the backpack for a shirt. She hadn’t changed since the beginning of their trip and her shirt was dirty and stank.</p><p>Between two rolls of her clothes, her fingers met something hard. She pulled it out and saw it was an envelope. With her name on it. Written in calligraphy. There was only one being she knew who could have written it. She opened it with shaking fingers. It contained five sheets of expensive paper filled with the same calligraphic writing.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Dear Chloe, my love,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I don’t know how long I will have been gone when you read this. I want you to know that I’m truly sorry that I had to leave you. I never wanted that. I had wished we could have spent eternity together, but we both know the Devil doesn’t deserve a happy ending, right?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t have regrets or feel guilty about my death. You know where those lead. You couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. In fact, if you hadn’t stopped the shower that night, I probably wouldn’t have made it until morning. You allowed me to complete my last task, bringing Amina back home. At least, I hope she’s home now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The years I spent with you were the most beautiful ones of my very long life. The only ones that mattered to me. The ones I cherished until the end. You made me a better man, transformed me. Turned the Devil back into an angel. Something I never thought could happen. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>You’re the only love I ever had. I didn’t even know what love was before meeting you. I still don’t understand how you could have fallen in love with me, at least, the me I was when we first met. Falling in love with the Devil is an exploit no one had ever done before despite my ‘mojo’ as you called it. As you noticed when you interviewed ninety-two of my ‘partners’ a few years ago, I was meaningless to them. And they were for me. You, Chloe Jane Decker, filled the void drugs, sex and all other pleasure never could. You made me happy in a way I never thought possible.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Even if I’m gone, please try to be happy. I know it will be hard at first. I couldn’t imagine my life without you. Maybe it’s the same for you. But please, try. When you look at the stars at night, remember that they are a part of me. That even as I’m not there physically, I will still be there spiritually and want your happiness. If you’re happy, I am too.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It might be hard to find love after the Devil, after all, they are pretty big shoes to fill, aren’t they? You still need to let your heart be open. You can even ask Mi or Amenadiel to present you some of my siblings if you can’t find anyone on the Earthly plane. You’re still young and deserve to be loved. On second thought, none of them deserve you, so forget I said anything.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In my safe you will find my last will and testament and a letter for Michael. Please, take great care of Akuma for me. Tell Beatrice that she’s the first little human I ever loved and that I’ve cherished all the time we’ve spent together.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I have one last request: I wish to be buried beside my brother Uriel if it’s not too late. Amenadiel knows where I buried him. You can pray to him or Michael to take care of my body if I die before we make our way back to LA. And if you’re reading this too late, that’s okay. You can leave my body where it lays. This request is more for my brothers than for me. Like Uriel, I do not exist anymore so whatever you do is fine. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I love you. I have always loved you, always.</em>
</p><p> </p>
<p></p><div>
  <p> <em>Your devoted Devil, Lucifer</em></p>
</div><p> </p><p>
  <em>P.S.: If you’re still on the island and unable to return home, you’ll find at the bottom of this letter the translation in Satawalese on how to ask for the boat ride back to Houk. From the Saturday following our arrival, a plane will wait for you there until the next weekend. I paid them enough money to buy a new plane asking them to wait for you and bring you back safely to Chuuk so they bloody better be there! From Chuuk, call the number at the bottom of the letter and a plane will take you back to LA. If you prefer, or if no one is waiting for you in Houk, pray to Michael or Amenadiel. They can make sure you get back home.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>When she finished reading, her cheeks were wet with tears. If she had ever doubted he loved her, she couldn’t anymore. And he knew. He had known all along that he was dying and he hadn’t wanted to worry her about it. Dan was right. He was saying his last goodbye to everyone.</p><p>Until the end, he had made sure she was going to be okay, making sure she could go back home safely. It was still Monday, at least, she thought so. The plane would be there for nearly two weeks from now. That should be enough time to bring <em>them</em> back – not her – to Chuuk. She glanced towards Lucifer’s immobile body. He would be fine, right? </p><p>She read the letter a second time and even a third, before folding it back in the envelope and putting it where she found it. She would have some questions for him when he regained consciousness. She wondered when he had put the letter in her backpack. She had packed it and carried it almost the whole trip. When did he find an opportunity to put it in?</p><p>She finally changed her shirt as she planned – wincing when the shirt brushed against the bandage – and laid down once again against Lucifer’s side.</p><p> </p><p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading and as always, all comments are highly appreciated.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. A tapestry only love could create</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, here we go for another chapter! Thank you so much everyone for all your comments and support. I love you!</p><p>Thanks to my fabulous betas: LoveDevilKing and Fox_2005. You are the bests!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer slept for more than a day without moving at all. Chloe had been relieved that Lucifer’s breathing was still even and his condition was not worse, however after twenty-four hours with no improvement, she was starting to worry again. Would he ever regain enough of his light to wake up? She had no idea how this worked. </p><p>Having just come back from lunch, she took Lucifer’s pulse, as she did every now and then for the reassurance that his heartbeat was still regular. She removed her hand, stunned. His skin was burning up. Could angels have a fever? And so suddenly? He had been cold when she had left not so long ago.</p><p>Chloe was worried more than ever now. She commanded Akuma to leave Lucifer’s side and removed the blankets, but it was not enough. She needed to find something to cool him down and quickly. She waved at the young woman at the entrance – there was always a young woman or man staying near the entrance of the hut – and with gestures, managed to make her come closer. Chloe took the woman’s hand and put it on Lucifer’s forehead. The woman widened her eyes, nodded, and ran outside.</p><p>Soon after the woman left, Lucifer started moaning faintly. Beads of sweat pearled on his forehead and he started twisting and pulling on his restraints. </p><p>“Lucifer, you’re alright. Calm down. It’s okay,” Chloe kept repeating herself in a reassuring tone, wiping the sweat from his brow and caressing his face. She was not sure if he was moaning from pain or because he was restrained but either way, she wanted to let him know he wasn’t alone. “Can you hear me, Lucifer?”</p><p>He didn’t answer but his moaning amplified. His agony was painful to hear and if he was twisting before, he was positively writhing now. His eyes were half opened but he didn’t seem to be focusing on anything.</p><p>“Lucifer, please, tell me what’s wrong!” she pleaded, not knowing what to do. Since arriving nearly dead on this lonely island, she could only helplessly watch as the love of her life, fought against the rage of an inner fire consuming the last sparks of his light, his life. </p><p>“B–burning,” he finally let out in a whisper. Fortunately it was silent in the hut, otherwise, she would never have heard him.</p><p>“You have a fever,” Chloe told him. “The girl went to get help.” At least she hoped so. Not speaking the language was proving to be a bigger hindrance that she thought it would be. She had found a loose palm leaf inside the hut and was using it to fan him, trying to cool him off.</p><p>He shook his head, as if to deny the fact, but didn’t answer back. His brief moment of lucidity was gone. Kicking and twisting, moaning and pulling on his restraints were the only things he seemed to be able to do now. </p><p>The young woman who had been at the entrance finally returned, soon followed by a huge man carrying a bucket filled with water and the old woman. Chloe had learned that she was named Nainowa. The latter kneeled beside Lucifer who was still writhing in pain. She put her hand on his forehead, nodded, and turned towards the younger woman who handed her a small bowl filled with a brown liquid. The bowl’s rim had an area thinned out and protruded slightly to facilitate pouring.</p><p>The man who had brought the bucket kneeled at Lucifer’s head and lifted it, preventing him from moving. Nainowa said something to Lucifer and put the protruding edge of the bowl against his lips. She slowly poured the liquid in his mouth and Lucifer swallowed two or three sips before he stopped and the liquid started dripping from his mouth. He was not conscious or strong enough to perform the simple task of swallowing. The man gently put Lucifer’s head back on the mat and Nainowa wiped the smear of liquid from his chin and neck. Chloe had no idea what she gave him but she figured it was some kind of medicine.</p><p>Chloe took the washcloth the young woman handed her and soaked it in the water. It was not as cold as she had wished, but fresh enough to help. With gestures, she asked Nainowa if she could wipe all the paint on Lucifer’s body and the old woman nodded with a smile. Lucifer was still moaning faintly but his movements were now barely twitches, probably too weak to do more.</p><p>Chloe washed his whole body with soft and caring movements, just like she had done when Trixie was a baby – removing all the paint in the process. She soaked the washcloth one more time and put it on his forehead. Lucifer wasn’t moving or moaning anymore but his temperature was still incredibly high.</p><p>In the hours that followed, this ritual repeated itself many times. Someone would take the bucket and bring her fresh water and she would bathe his body trying to get the fever down. Whenever Lucifer would writhe and moan, Nainowa would get him to swallow more of the brown liquid in the bowl. But his temperature was not getting lower and Chloe was getting more and more worried as time passed. From time to time, Lucifer would regain consciousness for a few moments, but never enough to speak with Chloe or Nainowa.</p><p>It was only when the sky began to clear, after an anxiety filled night, that Lucifer’s fever finally broke. His temperature continued to drop, and drop. Now, he was as cold as he had been before, if not more. Nainowa rested her hand on Lucifer’s forehead and nodded at Chloe with a small smile before leaving the couple to themselves. Chloe covered Lucifer with the blankets and settled on his left side with Akuma on the other, both trying to give a bit of their warmth to the Devil. Having not slept much since they had arrived and feeling the stress beginning to fade, Chloe fell asleep within minutes.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Lucifer’s movements woke her. Chloe had no idea what time it was, but the sun was bright and the temperature had risen in the hut like it was afternoon. Lucifer was still cold despite the heat. Chloe lifted herself on her right elbow and looked at him, concerned. His face was contorted as if he was in pain.</p><p>“Lucifer, wake up!” She shook him carefully, trying to wake him without shocking him. “You’re having a nightmare.”</p><p>He didn’t answer but his movements amplified. The fact that he was bound was certainly not helping him with his nightmares.</p><p>“Lucifer! Wake up!” she said louder. Almost yelling.</p><p>His eyes finally flew open and he shakily lifted his head, looking at himself.</p><p>“Remove them!” he suddenly shouted, pulling on his restraints.</p><p>“Calm down, Lucifer. I don’t have the key for those.” trying to soothe him, she put her hand on his forearm, as she had done so often during their cases.</p><p>“No! The bugs!” His voice was raspy and hoarse. He looked at her, panicked.</p><p>“There are no bugs, Lucifer.” She removed the blankets. “There’s nothing on you.”</p><p>He looked away from her, his gaze fixed on his naked body. “They are crawling all over me! Remove them!” He pulled again at his restraints to no avail. </p><p>Chloe gently rubbed his chest with her hand. “There’s nothing on you, Honey. You had a bad dream,” she said calmly.</p><p>“No! No!” He shook his head violently, still looking at his body with wide eyes filled with panic. His breaths were now shallow and too fast. “They’re eating me!”</p><p>“I swear there’s nothing on you Lucifer.” She made soothing circles on his chest. She needed to calm him down or he was going to have a panic attack.</p><p>He remained silent for a moment before saying shakily, “Th–they are inside me.” He started weeping. “P–please, remove them.” He let his head fall back on the mat, as if that small movement had drained what little energy he had. He started shaking and Chloe didn’t think it was because he was cold. Tears were running down on each side of his temples, spilling in his ears and hair. “Please, don’t let them eat me,” he whispered shakily.</p><p>Chloe’s heart sank. She had no idea if this obsession about the bugs came from a nightmare, something he had experienced when he was tortured or if he was feeling it ‘for real’, but to see him whimper like he was in pain and afraid, was heartbreaking. </p><p>Nainowa, who had left in the middle of the night, was back with the same little bowl filled almost to the brim with the brown liquid. Until now, Lucifer had never been conscious enough to drink more than two or three sips but this time, she managed to make him drink it entirely. Chloe frowned. It was certainly not a medicine against fever since it had been down for hours. A kind of drug to make him sleep maybe? Thinking about it, Lucifer had slept after drinking it on each occasion. </p><p>Lucifer kept shaking for a few minutes before finally falling asleep. Chloe’s voice had seemed to soothe him enough to avoid a panic attack, and her caressing the short hair in his neck seemed to also calm him into sleep. He said nothing after he drank the brown liquid, and except for his tremors, he had shown no signs that he was conscious before he fell asleep.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>While Lucifer was sleeping, Chloe was reading the letter he wrote to her for the hundredth time – she didn’t have much to do after all – when something unexpected happened. Or more like someone. Out of nowhere, Michael appeared in the middle of the hut. He hid his wings almost immediately.</p><p>“Michael!” Chloe blurted in surprise, jumping to her feet. She glanced at Lucifer and saw he was still sleeping.  “What are you doing here?” she added, trying to make sense of his presence.</p><p>Michael didn’t answer at first and went directly towards his twin. The sight of his other half resting motionless, his wings spread on each side of him without even the faintest glow, reminded him of bad times. </p><p>“Oh, Sammy!” he whispered, kneeling beside him. He gently caressed the white strand of hair but didn’t comment on it. Then, turning to Chloe, he finally answered her question. “I've been trying to reach him since yesterday and when I had no answer, I decided to come check. I was worried.”</p><p>“There’s no signal here, Michael. I thought–”</p><p>“–Prayers don’t need any signal from this world.” Michael cut in, smiling slightly.</p><p>Yes, sure. She should have thought about it with the number of times she read the letter.</p><p>“What happened?” Michael asked, removing the blankets on his twin’s body.</p><p>Before Chloe could answer though, Michael noticed the restrained and suddenly became angry.</p><p>“Why did you let him be bound?” he yelled. “You know he can’t stand to be restrained.” He looked up at Chloe, accusingly.</p><p>“What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t stand against a whole village?” Chloe answered, just as angrily. </p><p>Michael started pulling on the shell covering one of Lucifer’s hands, careful not to hurt him. Even if his invulnerability was back, a celestial could always hurt another, being his twin or not.</p><p>“Stop!” Chloe shouted. “I don’t think he’s bound because they’re afraid of him, but to prevent him from hurting himself.”</p><p>“Bullshit!” Michael retorted. “He’s not even conscious, how do they think he will hurt himself?”</p><p>“He’s not constantly sleeping. He wakes up from time to time and he’s in pain and maybe even hallucinating. They give him some kind of drug to make him sleep.”</p><p>“No drug from this plane can make an angel sleep. And what’s this?” he asked, pointing at the leaves covering Lucifer’s right forearm.</p><p>He went to touch it but Chloe stopped him. </p><p>“Don’t. I don’t know what they did but I think they’re trying to help. He was dying when we arrived, Michael. He even stopped breathing. It might not seem like it, but I assure you he’s better than he was two days ago.”</p><p>“I don’t care. I’ll take him to Silver City.”</p><p>Michael went to try and free his twin again.</p><p>“Stop Michael, please!” Chloe pleaded, grabbing onto his arm, tears in her eyes.</p><p>“Don’t think I–“ He suddenly stopped and looked up. Silence filled the hut.</p><p>“What?” Chloe finally asked, frowning at the look on Michael’s face.</p><p>After what seemed like an eternity, he answered. “He told me to stop.” Michael said,  flabbergasted, looking back down at Lucifer</p><p>“He?”</p><p>“Father.”</p><p>Wait, what? God was aware of what was going on right now with Lucifer? And He thought it was a good thing? <em>Oh, thank God</em>, she thought, completely missing the irony. Chloe felt relief fall on her like a down comforter. Her prayers had been heard somehow.</p><p>“I want you to tell me everything about what’s going on here,” Michael asked.</p><p>“I don’t know much. Everything has been so strange since we got here. The islanders barely reacted to Lucifer’s wings and it was like they knew exactly what to do since he arrived. As if ...” A thought suddenly occurred to her. “Could your Father have instructed them?”</p><p>“Father doesn’t intervene with humans anymore. Humans usually react badly to divine intervention.”</p><p>“Mmm, and He didn’t tell you anything when He stopped you just now?”</p><p>“No. Just to stop. I tried to ask him more but He stayed silent.” He gently caressed his twin’s wings. “Sammy’s energy is so low. Almost imperceptible.” He sighed. “Do you think those people would mind if I stay a little to share some of my energy with him?”</p><p>“From what I’ve seen since we got here, I don’t think they’d care.”</p><p>Michael nodded and unfurled his wings before laying on the left side of his brother. He was almost settled when Nainowa entered the hut. Michael froze but she simply smiled at him, and nodded in approval. Michael relaxed and settled closer to his brother. Nainowa turned around and left without saying anything.</p><p>“You’re right.” Michael told Chloe. “That was definitely weird. Humans don’t usually react like that to divinity.”</p><p>“I told you. I have no idea what’s going on here, but I don’t think it’s bad.”</p><p>“I hope you’re right. We’ll talk later if you don’t mind.”</p><p>“Sure.” Chloe went back over to the side of the hut and resumed reading her letter. She really hoped Michael could help Lucifer. It was all she could do it seemed, hope.</p><p> </p><p>Michael slept almost two hours with his twin, but Lucifer didn’t wake up.</p><p>“I don’t understand,” Michael said, rising from the floor and stretching his wings. “He should have enough energy to wake up by now.”</p><p>“Like I said, Michael. They gave him a kind of drug that makes him sleep.”</p><p>“And like I said, human’s drugs are not supposed to work on celestials. Especially now that Sammy’s invulnerability is back even around you.” Stubbornness was definitely a family trait. </p><p>“I can’t explain it either, but the results are there,” she said gesturing to Lucifer’s prone figure</p><p>“Yeah, I can see that,” Michael nodded. “Listen, I have to go or Ella will be worried. If you need help or have any problems, just pray to me and I will come back.”</p><p>“I will. Thank you, Michael,” Chloe said, coming around to stand next to the Archangel. “Can you let Ella know what’s going on here and ask her to find a way to explain that it might take a little longer before we come back to the precinct? I have no idea when Lucifer will be well enough to return.”</p><p>“I will. If you need a flight back or anything at all, please don’t hesitate to pray to me.”</p><p>“Thanks but it will depend on what Lucifer wants.”</p><p>“Of course.” And with that, Michael was gone.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Lucifer slept through the night and into the next morning. When Chloe woke up, her movements seemed to awaken him. </p><p>“D’tective?” he mumbled in a raspy voice, turning his head towards her. “I–” He looked around, obviously confused.</p><p>“Lucifer! Oh! Thank God! You’re awake!” Chloe rose up onto her knees and stroked his cheek gently.</p><p>“It appears I am.”</p><p>Chloe couldn’t help herself and started crying, burying her face in his chest. Just to hear him answer lucidly was such a relief. He didn’t comment on her mentioning his Father though.</p><p>“No! Please, don’t cry!” Lucifer pleaded. “I’m sorry if I said something wrong!” He tried to lift his hands to hold her but realized he was bound. He started pulling on his restraints.</p><p>“I thought I was going to lose you!” Chloe said between sobs. “You almost died! I even had to do mouth-to-mouth!”</p><p>“Having fun were you?” he smirked, grinning. He tried again to free himself to no avail.</p><p>“It was not funny, Lucifer! And when I saw the letter, I– I…” She started to cry louder. She was crying from exhaustion, relief and happiness, all mixed together in a tapestry only love could create.</p><p>“I’m sorry! I didn’t meant to–”</p><p>“Oh! Shut up!” Chloe cut him off, leaning up and kissing him passionately, her tears running down on his face. Surprised at first, he reciprocated her kiss.</p><p>“Why am I bound?” he asked when they parted. His voice seemed a bit concerned, but not panicky.</p><p>“I don’t know, but now that you’re awake, you can ask them.”</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>It didn’t take long before Nainowa joined them. She smiled when she saw Lucifer was conscious and lucid. Lucifer and she started to talk and Chloe stepped a little further away with Akuma, waiting for them to finish to be able to learn more. They talked for several minutes.</p><p>“So, what’s going on?” Chloe asked as soon as Nainowa left.</p><p>“There’s a prophecy –“ Lucifer began, his voice puzzled.</p><p>“NO!” Chloe shouted. “No prophecy! The last time–“</p><p>“It’s not the same one. I don’t know much, she told me that we’ll talk about it more when I’m  better, but it seems that they’ve known I was going to come here for over three thousand years.”</p><p>“Three thousand years?!” </p><p>“Yes. Since the first islanders arrived.”</p><p>“So, what about what they did to your forearm?” she asked, looking at the leaf bandage on his arm. </p><p>“I don’t know exactly. She just talked about healing but I don’t see how they could succeed where everyone else failed.”</p><p>“Well, Michael said human’s drugs are not supposed to work on you either but obviously, it did.”</p><p>“Michael? You’ve seen Mi?”</p><p>“Yes. He came yesterday afternoon. Said he was worried when he was unable to reach you.”</p><p>“Poor Mi. He still feels guilty for not following me in my Fall. He will never stop worrying about me now.” He yawned and shook his head before closing his eyes. He still looked tired, Chloe noticed.</p><p>“Will someone come back to unlock your restraints?” Chloe asked before he fell back asleep.</p><p>“Not now,” he answered, opening his eyes. “Nainowa told me the process isn’t finished and that I have to wait a little more.”</p><p>“What process?” Chloe pressed.</p><p>“I have no idea.”</p><p>A moment later, he was asleep.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Lucifer slept for more than an hour before awakening with a sharp scream. He took a few deep breaths, shaking a little.</p><p>“Another nightmare?” Chloe asked.</p><p>He nodded and tried to get his breathing under control. “The same as almost every time in the last two weeks.”</p><p>“The branding?”</p><p>He nodded again but remained silent. Soon after, he started contorting, trying to bring his right knee to his forearm.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Chloe asked, frowning.</p><p>“Can you scratch my forearm? It’s itching like hell.”</p><p>“I can’t really scratch it with the thickness of what they put over it but I can try.”</p><p>Chloe gently rubbed his forearm over the banana leaves, making sure to not displace anything.</p><p>“It’s not working,” Lucifer said after a few seconds. “You need to rub harder.”</p><p>“I don’t want to scrap off what they put on it, Lucifer.”</p><p>“Do whatever you want, but do something! I’ll go crazy if it continues.”</p><p>“I know itching is really annoying when you can’t scratch it but I’m sure it will pass soon enough.”</p><p>“Annoying? It’s more than annoying!” He twisted again and pulled on his restraints, trying to reach the itching. His breathing was now faster. “Please! It’s like hundreds of needles!”</p><p>Feeling helpless, Chloe called out to the sentry at the entrance, a young boy this time, to get his attention.</p><p>“Ask him if Nainowa can come back,” she told Lucifer. “Maybe she can help you.”</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>It appeared the only solution Nainowa had was to make him sleep and Lucifer gladly accepted. When she came back with the little bowl containing the drug, Lucifer swallowed it in a few gulps. He could barely stand the awful itching sensation and being unable to scratch was frustrating to a point he couldn’t think of anything else.</p><p>“It should be better when you wake up,” Nainowa told him before he fell back asleep.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Thunder woke them both in the middle of the night. Lucifer had slept about eighteen hours since he had taken the drug. He stirred, tried to turn on his side and remembered he was bound. Chloe couldn’t see much but she heard the feathers rustling and felt him move.</p><p>“You’re awake?” she asked sleepily.</p><p>“Yes,” he answered in a raspy voice.  “And f–freezing. And thirsty.”</p><p>Chloe rubbed his chest. His skin was freezing. It was true that the air temperature was colder than usual, probably because of the storm and the wind blowing, but it was still more warm than cold.</p><p>“You already have both blankets I brought from the plane plus the one the islanders gave you. I can’t do much more at the moment, but I have some water. Wait, I will try to find the bottle I had filled yesterday evening.”</p><p>“T–that’s the only t–thing I’m able to d–do, wait,” he sighed. His teeth were chattering so much he could barely talk.</p><p>The hut was dark but Chloe waited for a lightning strike to go to the backpack. Lucifer missed her warmth as soon as her body wasn’t touching his anymore. He asked Akuma to move up from his position against his right hip. The dog snuggled along his chest. The poor dog seemed terrorized by the storm.</p><p>Chloe had just found the water bottle when an especially loud thunder startled her and she almost dropped it.</p><p>“God is bowling,” she joked.</p><p>“I c–can assure you He’s n–not!” Lucifer huffed.</p><p>“I know Lucifer,” she laughed. “It’s just, my dad used to say that when I was little and afraid of thunderstorms.”</p><p>“Oh!”</p><p>“It worked, you know. It’s always comforting to give a reason to things we don’t understand, even if it’s the wrong one.”</p><p>“I b–bloody well know.”</p><p>Chloe helped Lucifer to drink. He wasn’t even able to raise his head enough by himself. If his lethargy worried her, she didn’t let him know. Maybe it was just the drug that still has some effects, she hoped. She laid over him, trying to give him some of her warmth. His whole body was shivering and she could hear his teeth chattering despite the noise of the storm.</p><p>Chloe’s warmth slowly warming him and the storm’s noise fading away, Lucifer finally fell back asleep. Chloe followed soon after.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The sun was shining when they woke up for the second time. It was obviously very early, the light having this orange coloration sunrises and sunsets give to everything. Chloe was still on Lucifer, her head on his chest, just under his chin. She put her right hand beside Lucifer’s head and pushed herself up. She winced from the additional pressure on her left elbow. </p><p>“Are you hurt?” Lucifer asked, noticing her reaction.</p><p>“I’m fine. It’s just a little burn.” She saw him frown and glance at the white bandage. She hurried to change the subject. “No nightmares?”</p><p>He thought for a few seconds before answering. “No, not that I remember.”</p><p>“How do you feel?” she asked, not giving him time to press further about the burn. She knew he would be worried.</p><p>“Better, I think.”</p><p>“Are you still cold?” His skin was at least not as cold as it was in the middle of the night.</p><p>“It’s better, but I can’t say I’m warm. It will be like this until I have enough of my light back. I just can’t produce heat by myself right now.”</p><p>“What you need to do is bake under the sun.”</p><p>“That would probably help, yes, but unless we remove the roof of this hut, I’m kinda stuck here right now.” He pulled on his restraints as if to prove his point.</p><p>“You should ask Nainowa. Maybe they can set you free now.”</p><p>He sighed. “I hope so. What I wouldn’t give just to be able to hold you.”</p><p>Chloe smiled and caressed his cheek.</p><p>“Who would have guessed that the Devil was such a cuddler?” she laughed. And it was such an improvement from one year ago, after his return from Hell.</p><p>“Well, there’s not much call for it in Hell,” Lucifer countered. “I’m still playing catch-up!” he even managed to let it sound like pouting,</p><p>Chloe's laugh was cristalline. He loved to hear her laugh. Lucifer smiled and looked at her beautiful face, relishing the moment.</p><p>Akuma decided it was the perfect time to demonstrate his presence and he licked Lucifer on the nose. The dog had probably decided that his master’s beard was too long to be licked. Lucifer hadn’t shaved in almost a week and his usually well maintained stubble now looked more like a short beard. Lucifer turned his head to escape but he had no place to go.</p><p>“Stop that, will you?!” he said to the dog, but his tone was soft. Chloe laughed harder. Despite his actual situation, Lucifer felt a wave of happiness at that exact moment, a feeling  he hadn’t felt often in his life. Chloe pulled slightly on Akuma’s collar to prevent him from licking more and started stroking his fur, scratching behind his ears. Akuma too must have missed his master caresses.</p><p>Outside the hut, they heard kids laughing and running. The village was waking up.</p><p>“Are you hungry?” Chloe asked, once more, serious. “My stomach is growling.”</p><p>“I’m famished,” Lucifer confirmed, surprised that he actually felt hungry. It had been so long since he had had an appetite.</p><p>“Well, there’s no surprise there. You haven't eaten since when? Four days, I think?”</p><p>“Really? I had no idea it’d been that long. I’ve completely lost track of time.”</p><p>“I’m not surprised. You were unconscious most of the time.”</p><p>“Well, I’m certainly surprised to still be alive. I won’t complain to have missed a few days.”</p><p>“I was so afraid I was going to lose you,” she whispered, tears in her eyes. She caressed his white strand of hair, somehow a signal to her that death had been close. “Why didn’t you tell me anything? Why keep everything to yourself? That’s what I’m here for, to support you in every way I can.”</p><p>“I didn’t want to worry you. There was nothing you could have done anyway.”</p><p>“ I was already worried! Don’t think I didn’t notice what bad shape you were in.”</p><p>“But it wouldn’t have changed the fact that I was dying. I didn’t want you to spend the last days with me, wondering how you could help. Or worse, suggest that I stay sleeping in the Silver City, like some Sleeping Beauty waiting for a miracle.”</p><p>“You could have done that?” Chloe asked, stunned.</p><p>“Yes. If Dad had put me to sleep, it would have preserved what was left of my light. But I rather die than think about you, spending eternity waiting for a solution that would have never come. You know that if you had asked me to do that, I wouldn’t have been able to say no.”</p><p>Chloe sighed. “You still have a lot to learn about love and trust. I just wish I had known to help and support you during that horrible time. To be there for you. It’s not always about me Lucifer. You’re not alone anymore. There are people who care for you and you must learn to open up.” Her heart was crushed at the idea of his suffering, alone. She was imagining him, writing the letter, knowing it was the first and last time he would do such a thing. She couldn’t help herself and started crying.</p><p>“Please, don’t cry!” he pleaded. “I’m fine now, or at least I will be. I don’t feel the burning anymore so it can only be a good sign.”</p><p>As he finished speaking, Nainowa entered the hut, putting an end to their discussion. Chloe wiped her tears while Lucifer asked if he could be freed from his bindings. Nainowa asked him a few questions and agreed to his request.</p><p>“You will need to be careful to not remove the poultice or the leaves covering it,” she warned him. “Your arm may itch a little until it’s fully healed.”</p><p>“What have you done to it?”</p><p>Nainowa put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.</p><p>“You will have all your answers when the time comes.”</p><p>“But when–”</p><p>“Patience.” was all, the wise woman answered.</p><p>She unlocked the bindings and Lucifer brought his hands to his chest. His fingers  were stiff but without his hand splints, he was unable to open his hands. He rubbed his hands against his chest, trying to pry open them.</p><p>“Wait, I will get your splints,” Chloe said, but when she came back with them, Nainowa stopped her. She said something and Lucifer translated.</p><p>“She said I had better not or I might unconsciously scratch my forearm.” he sighed.</p><p>“Oh! I see.” Chloe put them back besides his prostheses and came back to him. She took one of his hands and gently unfolded his fingers, rubbing and massaging them to help the circulation. She laid his hand flat against his belly when she finished and did the same with his other hand.</p><p>“Thank you,” Lucifer whispered.</p><p>Nainowa nodded in approval and left the hut. As soon as they were alone – except for the sentry at the entrance, of course – Lucifer asked Chloe to show him her bandaged elbow.</p><p>“It’s okay Lucifer. They are taking good care of it.” During the night of Lucifer’s fever, Nainowa had insisted on changing Chloe’s bandage and reapplying the gel.</p><p>“How did it happen?” he asked worriedly.</p><p>“They put some kind of acid on your forearm and when you stopped breathing, I rushed toward you and bumped the bowl containing what was left of it. Some droplets splashed my elbow and unlike you, I don’t have invulnerable skin.”</p><p>“Show me,” he urged</p><p>“I assure you Lucifer that it’s fine. It’s already almost healed.”</p><p>“Show me.” he pressed once again, injecting a little of the power he had once used to command the demons of Hell. The mere idea that she was hurt was turning him inside out.</p><p>Chloe sighed and slowly removed the bandage. Three red patches, two small and one the size of a quarter were shining in the morning light.</p><p>“Take one of my feathers,” Lucifer said.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Plucked one of my feathers. One of the small one on the top.”</p><p>“But why?”</p><p>“They have healing properties. I would pluck it myself but my hands are mostly useless right now.”</p><p>“Lucifer, you already have barely enough energy for yourself I won’t–”</p><p>“It won’t remove anything from me. Their healing properties are inside the feather. My light being low it might not work as well as it should, but I think it will be enough.” He rolled slightly to the side to give her access to the smaller feathers near his back.</p><p>“But–”</p><p>“Det– Chloe, please.” He looked at her, beseechingly.</p><p>She sighed and did as he asked. When he called her Chloe, she knew it was something of the highest importance to him. She chose a small one, near his shoulder blade. He couldn’t hide his wince when she pulled it out.</p><p>“I’m sorry! I didn’t want to hurt you!” she exclaimed.</p><p>“That’s fine.” He smiled reassuringly. “Now, just put it over your burns and close your eyes. It should do the job.”</p><p>The feather was incredibly soft under her fingers. Divinity, she remembered. She was holding a literal piece of divinity. As soon as she put it on the largest burn, the feather started to glow. She closed her eyes and waited. She felt a comforting warmth where the feather was and soon after, she felt no pain anymore.</p><p>“You can open your eyes now.” Lucifer was curious to know if it had worked. The light from the feather should have been dazzling, but it just produced a medium glow, not enough light being stored in it. “Show me,” he added. He put his elbows on each side of him and lifted his upper body up. It was a bad idea. His head started spinning and he had to lay back down. He took a few deep breaths, trying to chase the nausea that had struck him.</p><p>“Hey, take it easy!” Chloe said, touching his cheek. “Are you alright?”</p><p>“Just a little dizzy.”</p><p>“You really need to eat something. I will check if there’s some food ready.”</p><p>“Wait! I want to see your burn first.”</p><p>Chloe realized she hadn’t checked it herself. She turned her elbow towards Lucifer, looking at it in the same movement. Everything was gone. There was not even a mark left.</p><p>“This is incredible, Lucifer. A literal miracle.”</p><p>“Now you understand why it’s important that divinity stays out of the hands of humans,” Lucifer answered tiredly. “I just hope our little body guard didn’t see what we did.”</p><p>Chloe glanced at the girl sitting at the entrance, drawing in the sand. “I don’t think she saw anything but I will put the bandage back in place. It will be safer I think.”</p><p>“Yes, it’s probably better,” he agreed.</p><p>Chloe wrapped her elbow and left to go get something for their breakfast. When she came back several minutes later, Lucifer had turned on his side, his arms circling his knees that he had brought to his chest. He hadn’t covered himself with his wings though, both of them still spread flatly on the ground. He smiled when he saw Chloe. Nainowa was following her.</p><p>“I thought you were asleep,” Chloe said, putting a plate full of various foods on the floor. Nainowa put a bowl beside it.</p><p>“No, I’m just cold,” he answered Chloe, then, turning to Nainowa he said, “I don’t need to sleep right now.”</p><p>“It’s not a sleeping potion but a fortifying one,” the old woman answered. “You need to get stronger.”</p><p>“A clever woman, aren’t you?”</p><p>Nainowa smiled. “There’s no need to be clever to know that someone who nearly died is weak. If you would have arrived here any later, we couldn’t have done anything. Thankfully, the Wind of God blew and let you arrive quicker.”</p><p>“What do you mean by the ‘Wind of God’?”</p><p>“It’s what we call the wind that blows really hard even when there’s no storm. That doesn’t happen so often, especially not to that strength. Agrup and Sesario were even afraid that the sail would tear. Fortunately, it didn’t happen and we’ve been able to help.”</p><p>“I’m sorry for causing you all this trouble. I only wanted to bring Amina home.”</p><p>“It’s no trouble but an honor to have been able to help you. We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time.” </p><p>Lucifer shook his head in disbelief. How could he believe that they were happy to help the Devil? They must be confusing him with someone else.</p><p>“I promise we will explain everything when you are stronger.” Nainowa added, noticing his reaction. “For the moment, you need to eat.”</p><p>The two women slowly helped him to sit. Lucifer kept his arms and hands pressed to his chest, too cold and weak to move on his own. With his wings out, it was not an easy task but he said he didn’t have the strength to put them back in. His head swirled at first and he leaned on Chloe, waiting for the world to become steady. </p><p>“I–I will need some help to eat,” he said hesitantly to Chloe, showing his half folded hands.</p><p>Chloe knew how he hated to feel helpless and was surprised that there was no anger or even bitterness in his voice. Some tiredness, sure, but he sounded more shy about asking for help than annoyed to not be able to do it by himself.</p><p>“Sure,” she answered, stroking his hair. “Never be afraid to ask for help.”</p><p>Lucifer sighed but didn’t answer. When he was finally able to stay upright by himself, Chloe wrapped him with two blankets and Nainowa made him drink her potion. </p><p>“It tastes awful!” Lucifer said with a grimace when he finished. “At least let me have a whiskey chaser.” He looked around the hut as if his flask would suddenly appear.</p><p>Nainowa smiled indulgently. “It may not be flavorful but it will help you. I will give you more until you’re strong enough to walk around by yourself.”</p><p>“What a pleasure,” he whined sarcastically.</p><p>Once Nainowa left, Chloe helped Lucifer eat. Even though he said he was starving, he didn’t eat much, his stomach already upset after eating no more than what a two years old child would have eaten. Afterwards he leaned on Chloe for about ten more minutes before asking her to lay him back down. He turned on his side in a tight ball.</p><p>Chloe noticed Lucifer’s helpless attempts to bring his right wing over himself. The wing moved a few inches before returning back to the ground. Without a word, she grabbed the huge bones of the wing with both hands and folded it over his shaking body.</p><p>“They are so heavy!” she exclaimed, surprised.</p><p>“Of course. They are not just feathers, Detective. It takes a strong structure to allow flying.” </p><p>“I know, it’s just… forget I said anything.” She shook her head and resumed adjusting his wings until he was completely covered.</p><p>The weight of the wings made her suddenly realize how strong he usually was, just to be able to flap those wings to fly. It was no surprise he was unable to fold them back inside at the moment.</p><p>Chloe finally crawled under his wing and rested her back against his chest. He circled her body with his right arm and she put her arm over his, paying attention not to displace the leaves on his forearm. She took his hand and laid it flat against her heart. Akuma laid down at Lucifer’s back, his usual place to sleep.</p><p>She listened to his steady breathing for a while. He had fallen asleep soon after laying down, but it had already been the longest time he had stayed awake since their arrival. She was sure now, that everything would be fine.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy Easter (if it's apply to you of course) and have a great weekend everyone! </p><p>Please, let me know what you think of this chapter.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. They were not mistaken</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Have you noticed? There's now the total number of chapters! The first draft of the story is fully written. There's still work to do on it, but I should be able to post the whole story before 5B is out.</p><p>Thank as always to my wonderful betas, LoveDevilKing and Fox_2005!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His growling stomach awakened him. He stayed motionless for a while, confused. It was only the second time he hadn’t woken up from a nightmare. He couldn’t help but smile. He had been right on at least one thing. It was the constant burning sensation that had made him start having the nightmares again. Now, the only thing he felt from time to time was a faint itching.</p><p>Thinking about the itching seemed to awaken it and he instinctively rubbed his forearm. An arm that was pressed against Chloe.</p><p>“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you up!” Lucifer said when Chloe stirred.</p><p>“No, it’s fine. If I spend the whole day sleeping, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.” She turned towards him. “Was it your stomach that rumbled like that?”</p><p>“Sorry, yes.” he answered, a bit embarrassed, but he couldn’t deny the unmistakable sound.</p><p>“It’s probably not lunch time yet, but I have a banana left. Do you want it?”</p><p>“Yes, please.” His dark eyes seemed to plead, like a puppy left out under the rain.</p><p>As soon as Chloe left his side, Lucifer tried to put his wings away. It required a great deal of effort but he managed to do it. The only problem was that he was still really cold. He slowly sat and grabbed one of the blankets between his thumbs and forefingers, trying to wrap himself in it.</p><p>“Let me help you,” Chloe said as she came back.</p><p>She wrapped the blanket around his shoulders and peeled half of the banana.</p><p>“I should be able to hold it if you unfold my fingers,” he said, stretching his left hand towards her. He kept his right forearm pressed against his chest.</p><p>Chloe smiled and put the banana between his fingers. Even if he was unable to open them by himself without the splints, closing them was not a problem. Chloe stroked his hair while he took a big bite. “I know you can do it,” she said, still smiling. “You always find a way to do whatever you want, Lucifer Morningstar, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be helped. I like to be able to help you.”</p><p>He nodded, his mouth too full to answer. When he reached the unpeeled part, he thought for a moment for a way to unpeeled it and finally handed it to Chloe.</p><p>“My stomach doesn’t have the patience to wait,” he said, smiling.</p><p>It was more complicated to hold it now that there was only a small part of the banana unpeeled and Chloe helped him to finish it. When she took the last piece out of the peel, she put it between her teeth. </p><p>“Hey! That’s my banana!” Lucifer complained. Without a word, Chloe leaned closer to kiss him, giving him the banana in the same movement. Lucifer swallowed it and they ended up kissing passionately.</p><p>“It was the best banana ever,” Lucifer said with a grin when they parted.</p><p>“I bet it was!”</p><p>Chloe sat beside him and they both relished the feeling of being with the other, leaning into each other. They didn’t speak, words were unnecessary. However, Chloe could feel Lucifer was shivering from the cold.</p><p>“We should go outside,” she said after a moment. “The sun would help you get warm.” Chloe glanced towards his prostheses and Lucifer followed her movement.</p><p>“I don’t have the strength to walk,” he sighed, “but I might be able to crawl to the entrance.”</p><p>He let go of the blanket over his shoulder, letting it slide down to the floor and managed to get on his knees.</p><p>“Wait. I will wrap a blanket around your waist. The people here don’t seem to have a problem with nudity, but there’s still young children running around.”</p><p>Lucifer had noticed that all the women he had seen were wearing only skirts and nothing on top. He had noticed only a small boy who had been wearing a kind of skirt and a t-shirt.</p><p>Trying to push himself with his hands required too much effort – not to mention that it was uncomfortable with his fingers folded – so he finally crawled on his elbows and knees. When he reached the outside of the entrance, he was exhausted. He shakily sat with his back against the hut wall, just next to the entrance. But the effort was worth it. He could already feel the heat of the sun on his skin. Chloe put a blanket on his shoulders, but left his chest uncovered so the sun could heat him. Akuma was already lying against his master.</p><p>“I need to put some sunscreen on,” Chloe said. “I’ll be right back.”</p><p>Lucifer nodded but didn’t answer. When Chloe came back, Lucifer's eyes were closed and he had a blissful smile on his face.</p><p>“This is wonderful,” he said dreamily. “You had a fantastic idea.” Chloe sat beside him and he put his cold hand on her lap. She started rubbing and massaging his fingers. For the first time in a very long time, Lucifer relaxed and just existed in the moment. Chloe’s gentle hands felt wonderful on his fingers. Humming in contentment, he decided to ask her the question that had been constantly on his mind since he ‘woke up’ in the hut. “Would you mind telling me everything that has happened since the boat?” he asked. </p><p>They talked for a while. Well, Chloe talked while Lucifer listened. She began with this terrible moment on the boat, when she had found him unconscious, wings spreaded wide; then how he stopped breathing for a time and the horrible night of his fever. He had more questions than ever now but the answers would have to wait. He finally fell asleep when she began telling him about Mi’s visit. </p><p>Chloe sat close and kept watch over her Devil.</p><p>Some time later, Chloe saw Nainowa coming to the hut, a folded cerulean blue fabric in her hands. Both women smiled at each other.</p><p>“He’s sleeping,” Chloe said softly, mimicking a sleeping gesture with her free hand against her cheek. The movement or Chloe’s voice awakened Lucifer though, and he looked at Nainowa with sleepy eyes.</p><p>“Mornin’.”</p><p>“It’s almost afternoon but a good day to you too,” the old woman answered cheerfully. “I’m glad to see that you were able to leave the hut. The whole village is impatient to pay their respects.”</p><p>“Hmmpf,” Lucifer grumbled.</p><p>“What happened to your wings?” Nainowa asked, trying to look at his back.</p><p>“Hid them,” he answered, eyes closed.</p><p>When she didn’t ask how or where they went, Lucifer opened his eyes, curious. “I brought something that would make you comfortable, if you want to get dressed,” she continued. “I may have ruined what you were wearing on arrival.”</p><p>“Chloe told me, but I have another suit in the backpack.”</p><p>“Oh! I see,” she said, bowing her head down.</p><p>Lucifer noticed that the old woman seemed upset with his reply so he quickly added, “But I can wear what you brought if you want. I won’t be able to dress by myself anyway.”</p><p>“Are you sure?” she asked hopefully. “I don’t want to–”</p><p>“Of course, I’m sure,“ he cut in, with a charming smile. “It won’t be said that the Devil can’t be accommodating.”</p><p>With Chloe’s help, Lucifer rose up onto his knees, keeping his balance on the wall of the hut. Both women managed to get him dressed the way most of the men on the island were. A long piece of fabric, passing between his legs and turning around the waist to create at once underpants and a kind of skirt. The plain blue fabric was surprisingly soft and the way it was wrapped around him, it would be easy to put on his prostheses if he wanted. He would never wear something like this in LA, but here and under the actual circumstances, it was perfect.</p><p>“Thank you,” he said softly when they finished. “It’s perfect.” He sat back against the wall, his energy already fading.</p><p>“I’m honoured you like it,” Nainowa answered. “It’s lunch time by the way. Do you want me to bring you something?”</p><p>“Thank you but Chloe will go. She has to eat too.”</p><p>“Yes, of course!”</p><p>Nainowa bid him farewell and she and Chloe returned to the village. Lucifer hadn’t even seen it yet, being unconscious on arrival and staying in the hut since then. He had to admit he was eager to see more but didn’t have the strength at the moment to go any further than where he was.</p><p>As she did earlier, Chloe brought food for them both and they ate outside. It was great that the temperature was so nice. Soon after eating, Lucifer fell asleep again. He slept almost all afternoon. When he woke up, he was starving again.</p><p>“You ate everything at lunch, but I will check to see if I can find you something before dinner.”</p><p>“I’m sorry to be such a burden,” he sighed.</p><p>“Don’t ever think that!” Chloe retorted, urgently, holding his face in her hands. “And I’m glad that you’re so hungry. It’s a good sign that you’re getting better and it will help restore your energy faster.”</p><p>“Depends on what you mean by fast.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” She asked, still searching the backpack for something he could eat.</p><p>”Do you remember when I came back from the Silver City after my amputations?”</p><p>“Of course I do! How could I ever forget that?!”</p><p>“Well, you remember that I was weak at that time, sleeping a lot. It was mostly because of the light I had lost.”</p><p>She nodded. “And you’d spent six weeks there…”</p><p>“There’s no magical way to bring my light back. Only eating, sleeping and time. Mi can help of course, but it might take a few months before I get all my energy back. I feel so empty at the moment.”</p><p>“Of your light?” She said, sitting back down beside him.</p><p>“Yes,” he sighed, “but don’t worry. We won’t be stuck here for six weeks. If we leave the same way we came, we should be able to make the flight in Houk. We still have one full week after all. I just hope they wait there as I asked.”</p><p>“Well, I think they might receive the visit of a certain Devil if they don’t.” Chloe smirked at him, opening one of the energy bars she had found. She broke off pieces of the bar and fed them to him. He didn’t seem to mind being fed like a child, in fact he seemed to be enjoying it at the moment.</p><p>“You bet they will!” He said in-between bites. “I also hope you won’t have any problems with the lieutenant upon our return.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about that. Michael is supposed to be finding an explanation about our delayed return.”</p><p>“Michael? Finding an explanation? I’m worried now!” he chuckled.</p><p>“Yeah, well, if he talks to Ella about it, everything will be fine,” she admitted, grinning at him.</p><p>“Yes, I’m sure Miss Lopez will find something that makes sense.” Smiling, he opened his mouth for another bite.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>After Lucifer ate a mango in addition to the energy bar, Nainowa joined them, followed by two men carrying a kind of chair.</p><p>“Everyone would like to meet you so we built this chair to carry you,” the woman said, “if you want of course.”</p><p>Lucifer didn’t particularly care for the idea of being carried by others but he knew it would be at least a few more days before he would be able to walk by himself. And he was curious to see the village.</p><p>“Okay, but do you have something to shave my beard first? I’m not used to having it so long.” He had brought his rechargeable shaver but after nearly a week, it was certainly discharged and there was no electricity on the island. He could use Amina’s solar charger of course but it would be too long to charge the batteries.</p><p>“Of course.” Nainowa turned to one of the men, asking him to get the necessary supplies.</p><p>While they waited, Lucifer took a better look at the chair they had brought. It was made of branches and banana leaves and mostly looked like a regular chair except a lot shorter. The seat was only a few inches from the ground and it had handles on both sides for transport. For something Nainowa said they just made, it looked well constructed.</p><p>They didn’t have to wait long for the man to return. He was carrying a bowl, a towel and a blade. As soon as Lucifer saw it, his breathing hitched and he couldn’t look anywhere else but at the blade. </p><p>Chloe noticed his reaction and what he was looking at. She positioned herself between Lucifer and the man.</p><p>“Lucifer, look at me,” she asked, stroking his cheek. “It’s okay. You’re okay. Concentrate on my voice. You’re not in Hell anymore.”</p><p>Lucifer blinked and looked at her. “It’s identical,” he whispered, shaking his head. “I– I can’t– I can’t do it.”</p><p>Shaving had been a big problem after his return from Hell and he had used music as a distraction. He didn’t need that anymore, but the sight of an identical blade of what had been used on him in Hell was just too much to handle after everything he had been through.</p><p>“I know Honey, but maybe if you close your eyes and–“</p><p>“No. Please. I just can’t!” He was now shaking, stroking Akuma’s fur with his folded fingers. The dog had immediately sensed when Lucifer had started to panic.</p><p>“Is there a problem?” Nainowa asked. Even if she didn’t understand what was going on, it was clear enough that Lucifer was unwell.</p><p>Lucifer shook his head, taking deep breaths. He didn’t want to meet the whole village with an unkept beard, but the probability of having a panic attack while shaving was too high.</p><p>“What if I sing to you?” Chloe suddenly asked.</p><p>“I don’t know. I–“ He stalled but her words had given him an idea. “Mmm, but that could work,” he thought out loud.</p><p>
  <em>“Mi, are you there?”</em> he prayed hopefully.
</p><p>
  <em>“Sammy! I’m so glad to hear from you! Of course I’m listening!”</em>
</p><p>Lucifer explained the situation, asking his twin for a special request.</p><p><em>“Of course!”</em> Michael answered.</p><p>Chloe and Nainowa were waiting, Lucifer obviously lost in his thoughts.</p><p>“I will explain later,” he told Chloe, then turning toward Nainowa, he added, “Let’s do it.”</p><p>Closing his eyes, Lucifer asked his twin to start and Nainowa began to shave and trim his beard. From that moment until Chloe shook his shoulder when it was done, he concentrated solely on Michael’s voice, singing in Enochian some of their favourite childhood songs. </p><p>
  <em>“Thanks Mi.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“My pleasure Sammy.”</em>
</p><p>To his surprise, Nainowa had kept a short scruff on his cheeks. He had no mirror to see it, but could feel it with the back of his hand. He politely thanked her and the two men helped him to sit in the chair.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The village was almost entirely built near the shore, in a cleared out area between palm trees. There were a few conventional buildings with white walls but most were traditional huts, some rounds, some squares, with a sloping roof covered in palm leaves. The men set the chair facing the sea in an open area, near a large fire pit. The chair being short, his stumps could touch the ground and he buried them in the hot sand. It was a new sensation for him and he enjoyed it. Yes, he had been to the beach without his prostheses once before, but he wasn’t sitting like he was now. Chloe kneeled in the sand beside him, Akuma sitting on his other side, just beside Lucifer’s knees.</p><p>Within minutes, many people came to get a look at him. They kept a respectful distance from him though, and Lucifer wondered why they seemed so shy. People were usually attracted to him. Was it because they had seen him with wings?</p><p>In the middle of these strangers, a familiar face appeared.</p><p>“Lucifer!” Amina shouted, coming closer to hug him. She was now able to walk by herself. “I’m so glad you’re doing better!” she said.</p><p>“You too, as I can see! I’m so glad that you’re finally home,” Lucifer answered, moved to see her again.</p><p>“May I introduce you to my parents and my younger brother and sister?”</p><p>“Of course!” Lucifer said and looked toward the small group of people who were standing a little separate from the main group.</p><p>Amina made the presentations – including Chloe and Akuma – and the parents thanked them again and again for bringing their daughter back home safely. Lucifer translated for Chloe. They then asked him about Orupi. Amina had clearly repeated what Lucifer had told her.</p><p>“He’s with his great grandfather, Otto,” Lucifer said. “You need not worry about him, he is just fine and one day you’ll join him. My Father always makes sure everyone is happy in the Silver City.”</p><p>“The Silver City,” Amina’s mother repeated. “It is such a beautiful name. I’m sure my grandfather is taking good care of him. Thank you again Mister Morning Star.”</p><p>“Well, I had some help but you’re welcome.” Lucifer assured her, slightly uncomfortable with her thanks.</p><p>“Amina told us that she saw the Evening Star too. We can’t be more blessed than you both helped our children.”</p><p>“You have wonderful children madam, I couldn’t let them suffer.”</p><p>Amina’s mother put a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. “We always knew you were the greatest of Angels, but the reality is beyond everything we could have imagined.”</p><p>Lucifer was dumbfounded. <em>Always knew you were the greatest of Angels?</em> What was she talking about? He was sure that his siblings would have something to say about that moniker. Lucifer had no rejoinder for what Amina’s mother said and sat there mute watching them walk away. Chloe could see that he had become emotional all of a sudden but not understanding the exchange, she could only guess they were talking about Orupi.</p><p>Lucifer remained lost in his thoughts until a young boy, about half Trixie’s age, came closer. He stopped in front of him, bouncing from one foot to the other. He seemed to be holding something in his hands behind his back.</p><p>“I– I made something for you,” he said in a small voice.</p><p>“Did you, now?” Lucifer asked with a smile, trying to get a grip on his emotions. “Show me.”</p><p>The boy put what he was holding on Lucifer’s lap and quickly stepped back. Lucifer grabbed it between his thumb and forefinger, holding it higher. It was a necklace made of small wooden balls of various colours. He put it back on one thigh, trying to display it so he could see it better. Lucifer looked back and forth between the boy and the necklace.</p><p>“You did this?” He asked in a shocked voice while gesturing toward the gift.</p><p>“My sister helped me.” The boy pointed to a girl who seemed a little older. She was looking shyly in their direction.</p><p>That made more sense. The necklace was really well made and even if he didn’t know much about children, Lucifer knew there was no way a boy that young could have done that alone.</p><p>“Come,” Lucifer said, waving to the girl.</p><p>The girl stepped up behind her brother, obviously extremely shy.</p><p>“This is beautiful,” Lucifer told them both. “I’m sure you worked very hard on this. What are your names?”</p><p>“I’m Kun and this is my sister Ookii,” the boy said.</p><p>“Come here, Ookii,” Lucifer said gently. When the girl finally got in front of him, he handed her the necklace. “Would you help me put it on?” He could have asked Chloe of course, but he was hoping this would help put the girl at ease. He bent his head and waited for Ookii to put the necklace around his neck.</p><p>“Thank you,” he told her when she finished. “It was very kind of you two to make this beautiful necklace for me.”</p><p>“You’re welcome,” Ookii answered, talking for the first time. Her eyes lit up at his praise. “You really like it?”</p><p>“I most certainly do,” Lucifer said with a bright smile. “And I never lie,” he finished with a wink.</p><p>When the siblings left, Lucifer realized there was a line of children waiting behind them. It was kind of like he was Santa, except that it was the children who were giving the gifts not the other way around. He received many drawings and paintings, a few rough sculptures, but among the many useless things was a miniature boat, almost an exact replica of the boat they had taken to come to the island. </p><p>“How old are you?” Lucifer asked the young man before him.</p><p>“Sixteen, sir.”</p><p>“Please, call me Lucifer. This is remarkable. You did this yourself?” He asked, holding the boat up for closer inspection. The craftsmanship was exquisite. </p><p>“Yes. My mother only helped me with sewing the sail. I’m learning to build boats.”</p><p>“You’re very talented. Is that what you desire to become? A ship builder?”</p><p>“Yes, it’s my biggest dream and the ancients always tell us that we should do what we have a passion for.”</p><p>“They are correct. A good way to be happy is to fulfill your desires.” Lucifer told the young man with a smile.</p><p>The teenager nodded before bowing at the waist and turning away. Lucifer repressed a yawn, already growing very tired and the gift giving ritual was not helping. He was also hungry again and hoped he could eat before falling asleep.</p><p>Nainowa, noticing his fatigue, arrived at the moment the teenager was waving Lucifer goodbye and held up her hands before addressing the assembled children.</p><p>“I’m sorry, but our guest is tired and you will have to wait until tomorrow,” she said gently to the few children left in line. “It’s almost dinner time anyway. Now run along.”</p><p>None of the children complained and left, their gifts still in their hands.</p><p>“Why do they all give me gifts?” Lucifer asked Nainowa. “People usually ask <em>me</em> for favor, not the other way around.”</p><p>“Everyone is so happy that you are here! It began with one project and when the children heard about it, they all wanted to do something for you as well.”</p><p>“What project?”</p><p>“All your questions will be answered in time.” Nainowa answered with a smile, leaving Lucifer none the wiser. </p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Just before they served dinner, Lucifer saw a woman coming closer with a basket in her hands. He realized the basket was full of black oval polished stones and after putting the basket on the ground, the woman started to fill a long pouch of fabric with them. When she finished, she tied the end with the rope sewed in the hem and put it around Lucifer’s neck. She opened the blankets to tuck the long bag underneath it.</p><p>“Oh! That’s lovely!” Lucifer moaned blissfully before raising an eyebrow at the young woman. She just smiled and wrapped the blanket around him tighter.</p><p>With the sun below the horizon, – the sunset had been beautiful – it was not warming him anymore and Lucifer had started to feel cold once more, despite the two blankets wrapped around him. The stones were wonderfully warm against his skin. He thanked the woman and if he hadn't been so hungry, he would have fallen asleep just with the warmth they provided.</p><p>He ate a lot and Chloe made sure to grab some extra food in case he got hungry again later. It was still early, the stars just starting to appear in the night sky, but Lucifer asked to be taken back to their hut. Chloe helped him settle in for the night with Akuma at his back. He kept the wooden necklace around his neck but he was too tired to pull his wings out, so he  was extremely grateful when someone brought a new set of hot stones. </p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>The next day was a repeat of the previous one. He started it by drinking Nainowa’s awful beverage, spending many hours baking in the sun and joining the rest of the village in the late afternoon, where he received many new gifts. Chloe had stored all those he had received yesterday in the hut because Lucifer had insisted on bringing all of them home but with today’s new pile, he would need an extra bag to bring back everything.</p><p>Lucifer still couldn’t understand why most of the children were giving him a gift. Sometimes, it was only scribbles on paper but they seemed so proud to give him something that they had made. They were probably mistaken by his last name, Morningstar, as it was too close to what they called Venus. The Morning Star seemed to be a divine being to them. It was not really a surprise considering how stars and everything in the sky was essential for navigation and their way of life, but him, a deity? The thought was absurd. How humans could get things so wrong sometimes! Of course he had seen his fair share of satanists over the centuries, but how the villagers were treating him was a lot different than a cult.</p><p>After dinner, he stayed a little longer than the day before on the beach, but not enough for the night to be fully black. He could feel his energy returning, but he was still too weak to walk or stay awake for long periods of time. </p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>He woke up with the strangest feeling the next morning. It was exactly seven days after his arrival on the island. He felt light, as if a burden he didn’t know he had been carrying, was suddenly gone. </p><p>“I feel great,” he remarked in amazement. “Not full of energy but, I don’t know, I feel… free.”</p><p>Chloe sat up and looked at him. He seemed… peaceful. The expression on his face was not one she could remember seeing on his face since he had returned from Hell. “Free?” She repeated. “Free of what?”</p><p>“I don’t know.” He said, shaking his head slightly while continuing to look at the roof of the hut. “Just like a weight is gone. It’s just a feeling, not even a real weight. Maybe it’s just the fact that I don’t feel any itching around the branding anymore.” He seemed thoughtful for a moment. Lifting his arm, he looked at the leaf bandage and remarked, “Yes, I think it’s that. I still don’t know what they did, but I think the bonding with the demons is definitely broken.”</p><p>Later, when he related to Nainowa how he was feeling, the old woman smiled.</p><p>“That means you’re ready,” she said.</p><p>“Ready for what?” Lucifer asked.</p><p>“To remove all this and have the explanation you have been waiting for,” she said, waving to his right forearm.</p><p>After helping Lucifer to sit up, she pulled out a knife from the bag she always carried at her waist and started cutting the ropes that were holding the leaves in place. Chloe was surprised that the white paste that they had put on his forearm was now all black. It has also hardened and Nainowa gently peeled it off with an expert hand.</p><p>Lucifer gasped in surprise when he saw his forearm. In place of the awful scars blackened by Hell’s ashes and demons’ blood, there was only thin pink scar tissue remaining. The sentence ‘property of the Lilim’ was not even readable anymore, some parts of the branding completely erased.</p><p>“How?” Was the only thing he could say and that came out a little breathlessly. Chloe was as speechless as he was.</p><p>“We had three thousands years to prepare for this,” Nainowa answered enigmatically.</p><p>“Yes, but how?” Lucifer demanded. “Human substances don’t work on celestials.”</p><p>“We all have our little mysteries?” Nainowa replied laughingly.</p><p>“And what about the explanation you promised me?” Lucifer insisted, not letting her avoid answering at least some of his questions.</p><p>“I need to gather the whole ancients council first. I will let you know when we are ready.” On that final note, Nainowa left them to themselves.</p><p>Lucifer was frustrated at not getting more answers right away, but the sight of his forearm reminded him that whatever the explanation was, the result was worth it. After two hundred years, he was finally free of the bonding, something he thought could never be possible. </p><p>After Nainowa left, Chloe put the splints back on Lucifer’s hands. He was so happy to be able to use his hands properly again, that he spent the next few minutes clenching and unclenching his fingers.</p><p>“Everything alright?” Chloe asked, amused and relieved at his progress.</p><p>“Yes. I just missed being able to do this.”</p><p>Something so natural for everyone, Chloe thought, and he, one of the most powerful beings in the universe, was unable to do it without help. Her heart sank a little at the thought.</p><p>“It’s fine Detective,” Lucifer added, seeing Chloe's sudden forlorn look. “There’s no need to be sad about it.”</p><p>“I’m not sad.” she smiled at him shaking off her melancholy. “I just realized how hard it must be for you to need splints simply to open your hands.”</p><p>Lucifer shrugged but didn’t reply. He had had to learn to live with a lot of things over his vast lifetime. And while he missed the unencumbered use of his hands, having this amount of use out of them was a miracle in and of itself.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>It was only later in the afternoon that Nainowa came back with the whole council. Amina also came with them. Chloe, Lucifer and Akuma were in the hut since it had started raining earlier and everything was still wet outside. Lucifer was asleep when they arrived so the elderly villagers just sat in a circle inside the hut, waiting for him to wake up. Amina came up to Chloe.</p><p>“Lucifer busy,” she said, looking down at the sleeping Angel. “Chloe help. Dinner,” she told Chloe in her approximate English. “Come, come.”</p><p>Chloe didn’t want to leave Lucifer but looking around the hut she realized that he wouldn’t be alone and if he needed anything, Nainowa would be sure to take care of him. Lucifer had told her that the older woman was convening the council of elders and he would get his answers then. Making up her mind, she smiled and stood up, following the young girl. Now that it looked like Lucifer was well on the road to recovery, she felt it was time that she helped out if she was able. She was glad to see that Amina seemed as happy as any other child. After what she’s been through, she didn’t seem to be too much affected by it or at least, it appeared so. Akuma watched them go, staying beside his sleeping master.</p><p>Chloe helped many other women of the village prepare dinner in a large rectangular hut with a roof but no walls. She cut vegetables she didn’t even know the name of and helped season the fish. The women showed her with hand gestures what to do. All the women were very kind to her and she had a surprisingly good time.</p><p>The dinner was almost ready when she saw Nainowa passing nearby. She excused herself and returned to the hut to see Lucifer. She was eager to know what they had talked about.</p><p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p><p>Lucifer was sitting on the sleeping mat, back to the entrance, head down. When she got closer, she heard him crying softly.</p><p>“Lucifer, what’s wrong? What happened?” she asked him, looking him over to see if he was injured or hurting in some way.</p><p>He didn’t answer, continuing to let the tears fall unhindered down his cheeks. She knelt in front of him and put an arm around his shoulders. She stroked his hair with her other hand, holding him close. He kept his head down, his tears soaking into her shirt.</p><p>“Lucifer, please, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.” She was at a loss as to what to do.</p><p>“Nothin’ wrong,” he said between sobs.</p><p>“Then why are you crying?” she asked gently.</p><p>“They were not mistaken,” he croaked out, his voice heavy with emotion.</p><p>“I– I don’t understand. Mistaken about what?” she asked soothingly.</p><p>“Me.” It was barely more than a whisper.</p><p>
  <em>Mistaken about him? What was he talking about?</em>
</p><p>“All along, I thought they were just confused because of my name,” he continued, his voice breaking at first before becoming stronger. “But even if they don’t use the term ‘Devil’, they knew who I was from the start. The job I had to do. The punisher of evil. They–” He stalled, raising his head and shaking it in disbelief. He finally looked at her, tears still running down his cheek.</p><p>“I still don’t understand,” Chloe repeated. “Why are you so upset? It’s a good thing, isn’t it?”</p><p>He smiled through his tears. “I don’t know! I just can’t help myself. Like I have too many emotions to be contained.”</p><p>“So… you’re sad and happy?” Chloe was unsure on what to think about that. He was crying as if the worst had happened.</p><p>“I– I guess it’s what you humans would call tears of joy. I don’t understand it at all. Something like this has never happened to me before!”</p><p>He was crying for joy probably for the first time in a millenia? And why was he so joyful about the fact they knew he was the Devil? All this made no sense.</p><p>“I think you need to start from the beginning,” she said gently.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Please, let me know what you think!</p><p>Have a nice weekend!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. The punisher of evil</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know you're all curious to know more about this prophecy... so I won't let you wait any longer!</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all your reactions on this fic. I love to read your comments!</p>
<p>Thanks once more to my wonderful betas for this chapter, LoveDevilKing and Fox_2005.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“It all started with a legend.” </p>
<p>Lucifer had calmed down finally after a long while wrapped in Chloe’s arms. She had moved to his side but kept hold of his hand allowing him to tell her his story at his own pace. </p>
<p>“The legend of their arrival on the island and the angel that guided them here.”</p>
<p>“I assume one of your siblings?” Chloe asked.</p>
<p>“I suppose, but I can’t be sure. While I was in Hell, I had no idea what Dad or my siblings were up to. I was only ever briefly on Earth before Amenadiel would drag me back.”</p>
<p>Lucifer huddled against Chloe in search of warmth and comfort and the latter had her arm around his back and was running her fingers through his curls.</p>
<p>“What’s the connection to you?” she asked, softly.</p>
<p>“This angel also told them about a prophecy.” </p>
<p>“I hate prophecies,” Chloe grimaced. She still could not hear that word without remembering Kinley and his wretched plot. </p>
<p>“It’s not a bad one, at least I don’t think so.” Lucifer tried to reassure her, knowing what she was probably thinking. He had to admit he didn’t care for prophecies either but him being who he was, there were bound to be more of them out there. He shook his head, as if he still couldn’t believe what he had heard.</p>
<p>“So what does it say?” Chloe pressed.</p>
<p>Lucifer related the prophecy as he heard it.</p>
<p>
  <em>When the Morning Star will come,<br/>
The burn, you will have to stop.<br/>
Succeed will appear with white,<br/>
And only good will remain.</em>
</p>
<p>“The two first lines are easy to understand. I’m less sure about the next two but it doesn’t seem bad,” he looked at her, seeking reassurance. “What do you think?”</p>
<p>Chloe smiled and wound the white strands of his hair around her finger. The ones that had appeared when she thought he had died.</p>
<p>“I might have a little idea about what the 'white' means," she said, raising her hands and mimicking quotation marks when she said the word white. "And considering the bonding is officially broken and you are free of your devil face, maybe you are the good they're talking about. Because you, Lucifer Morningstar, are a good person.”</p>
<p>He huffed a disbelieving laugh at her assertion. If he was good, it was because of her, but he was curious about the 'white' business. “So, what does the white mean if you are so clever?” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.</p>
<p>“After you almost died, I noticed a few white strands in your hair. Maybe that's the white the prophecy talks about.”</p>
<p>Lucifer frowned and tried to look up at his hair. Even if they weren’t as tame as usual, he still tried to see his own curls. Of course he saw nothing.</p>
<p>"Here,” Chloe said, grabbing them between her forefinger and her thumb, pulling gently, trying to show it to him. He frowned when he saw the ends of his hair. The little he could see was clearly not his usual brown.</p>
<p>“What the hell?” he exclaimed.</p>
<p>“I thought it had something to do with you dying or self-actualization,” she answered, “but I think it's kinda sexy,” she added when she saw his frown deepen.</p>
<p>“I’m not concerned about what it looks like. I’m concerned about how there could have been a prophecy in the first place, that foretold everything that has happened, including this," he reached up and tugged on his hair for emphasis. "That would mean that Dad had known this would happen at this precise moment for more than three thousand years! He would have had to know about the branding, the burning of my light and that I would come here, maybe even about Amina and Orupi’s. Why in the hell did He let all this happen?” Lucifer's outrage caused him to shout. It was a good thing that the hut was separate from the main village.</p>
<p>“So, are you upset that your Dad didn’t interfere?" She asked, confused. "Knowing you, you would have said that any interference was against Free Will and blah blah blah.”</p>
<p>Lucifer looked at her with wide eyes and couldn’t help himself, he burst out laughing.</p>
<p>“What?” Chloe said in an enquiring tone. “It's true!”</p>
<p>“No, no. You’re totally right.” Finally getting his amusement under control before adding, “But when you say it like that, it’s funny. I may never know for sure but I guess He acted to make sure everything would turn alright in the end.” Lucifer shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but He probably did the best He could.”</p>
<p>“I wish your Father could listen to you saying that.”</p>
<p>Lucifer shrugged as if he didn’t care. “I wish I was strong enough to fly and tell Him, but it will have to wait a few weeks.”</p>
<p>“Michael could carry you.” She offered. She was willing to help him in any way she could if it meant he could get some closure.</p>
<p>“There’s no way I will be carried like a baby into the Silver City!" he exclaimed. "Besides, just going through the planes requires energy and I have none to lose.”</p>
<p>“Yes, of course,” Chloe nodded. “All this is good to know,” she added after a short pause, “but it still doesn’t tell me why you were crying earlier. How do you get from a prophecy to the fact they were not mistaken about you?”</p>
<p>“Even before the prophecy, these people already worshipped the Morning Star, or Venus if you prefer. In those times, religions were very different from what they are now and humans often saw divinity in a lot of things. I can’t tell you how it happened exactly – no one in the ancients’ council knows either– but at some point, these people started to believe that the Morning Star was the punisher of evil people after their death.”</p>
<p>“So, what we would call the Devil,” Chloe said.</p>
<p>“Yes, even though they don’t use that name. They don’t see the punisher of evil as evil himself, more the opposite. They say it takes the greatest angel of all to do the most difficult job. With the prophecy and what Amina had told them, including my last name, they assumed I was the one they had been waiting for for so long.”</p>
<p>“So what? You’re some kind of deity to them?”</p>
<p>“It appears so," he confirmed, though he was still not comfortable with the idea.</p>
<p>“They pray to you?” Chloe asked in an incredulous tone.</p>
<p>“I don’t think so or at least, I never received their prayers. It’s possible that they don’t pray to anyone in fact. Primitive religions often only give thanks to the land, the stars or whatever, but they don't count on a divine being to make things happen. Praying usually implies that you’re asking for something. People who live day to day like these villagers can’t rely on divine intervention to survive.”</p>
<p>“Yes, that seems logical. So their religion doesn't have the fallen angel sent to Hell and all the baggage that comes with it?”</p>
<p>“No, and that probably explains why they don’t see me as a monster like everyone else.”</p>
<p>“You’re not a monster,” she said softly. “Never think you are.”</p>
<p>“You know that’s what most people think and I have seen myself like that if you believe in self-actualisation and my devil form.”</p>
<p>“That you don’t have anymore,” she reminded him.</p>
<p>“Because of you.” He caressed her cheek and smiled. “But it remains an incredible feeling to realize that other people can think that I’m not evil despite what I had to do. It’s the first time ever you know? Ever since organized religion has existed, the ‘Devil’ has always been used as the personification of evil.”</p>
<p>Chloe could see he was becoming overwhelmed again. Going from humanity’s scapegoat to a deity, well, it was no wonder he was emotional. All his life he’d been pointed out as the one to blame for everything, as the one responsible for all evil and suddenly, a whole community thought the opposite about him, saw him as someone good. </p>
<p>“But I didn’t tell you the strangest part of their belief,” Lucifer continued, interrupting her thoughts. “They believe that the Morning Star, as a reward for their devotion, created all the stars and constellations to help them always find their way home. They also say he felt alone and rejected so he created an alter ego, the Evening Star, so he wouldn’t be alone. They are at once so far yet so close to the truth.”</p>
<p>“The Evening Star?” Chloe parroted. She knew Lucifer had created the stars but she didn’t know what or who the Evening Star was supposed to be.</p>
<p>“They’re still talking about Venus when it appears in the evening sky instead of the morning and they think that it’s Michael.”</p>
<p>“They think you created Michael?!” She barked a laugh.</p>
<p>“Hilarious isn’t it?” he laughed with her. “I didn’t have the heart to tell them they were wrong. I can’t wait to see Mi’s face when I tell him that little nugget!”</p>
<p>Chloe smiled at the thought. “So, if I get this straight, they see you as a divine being that created the stars and punished evil. They’re surprisingly right despite the fantasy of the story behind all that. A lot more accurate than how other religions see you at least.”</p>
<p>Lucifer looked at her in a way she knew cogs were turning in his brain.</p>
<p>“What? Isn’t it what you just told me?” Chloe asked.</p>
<p>“When you say it like that… They–” He stalled and looked at her, tears building up in his eyes again. “Why didn't I meet these people earlier?”</p>
<p>“Maybe you wouldn’t have been ready? Would you have listened to them just ten years ago? Let alone three thousand years!”</p>
<p>Lucifer remained silent for a few minutes.</p>
<p>“You’re right. I would have scoffed at their story. I might even have frightened them with my Devil’s face to prove them wrong.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps your Father knows a lot more than you think. He might not manipulate us like puppets, but knowing the possible futures may allow Him to plan a few things.”</p>
<p>“Like you,” Lucifer whispered, trailing his fingers down her jawline. “I would never have listened before meeting you. Before you, I was too selfish to even consider anyone else's opinion. Fulfilling desires was the only thing I cared about, and that was mostly for what I could receive in return.”</p>
<p>“Linda would be proud of you right now.”</p>
<p>He looked at her askance when she said that. “I’m beginning to wonder if somehow, she wasn’t part of my Dad’s plan too. She has helped me a great deal.”</p>
<p>“Only He knows.” she agreed.</p>
<p>They both remained silent, lost in their thoughts. Lucifer cuddled a little more into Chloe, wrapping an arm around her and resting his head on her shoulder. Chloe kept playing with his curls, knowing how much he loved that. She thought about how it must feel to have been vilified for such a long time to suddenly be praised. Lucifer had suffered so much in his life, both physically and emotionally. Suffered to a point he was lucky to still be alive and sane. If someone had ever doubted how strong the Devil could be, the proof was sitting right beside her.</p>
<p>Lucifer couldn’t help but think about his Father, seeing the possible futures and having to act in consequence. Having to make the hard decision to send his son to Hell knowing he would suffer, but knowing it was probably the only way for him to truly be happy in the end. It must have been excruciating for Him. Because he had no doubt his Father loved him, had proven it many times since his return from Hell. How could anyone make such a decision? What had He seen to decide it was the best path to follow? Had He seen that Uriel would be sacrificed in the process? </p>
<p>Thinking about Uriel always caused an ache to settle in his chest that no time could erase and he couldn’t help the sob that escaped him. Chloe rubbed his shoulder, unsure if she should ask why he was crying again. Lucifer answered her unspoken question a few seconds later.</p>
<p>“I can’t help but wonder if He knew about Uriel...” he started in a whisper. His voice was broken in a way Chloe had never heard before. She remained silent, hoping he would confide more, keeping her soothing motion. She knew Uriel was the dead brother he had talked about in his letter. She didn’t expect what followed, though.</p>
<p>“I had to!” Lucifer suddenly let out, in a desperate cry. “I couldn’t let him kill you or mum! I– I didn’t want to, but he left me with no choice!” He started to cry again, from pain this time, a deep abiding grief.</p>
<p><em>Let him kill her?</em> What was he talking about? He looked at her, his eyes so sad that Chloe felt hers fill with tears just at the sight. Then he grabbed her suddenly, pulling her into his lap and buried his face in her neck.</p>
<p>“I killed him… I killed my little brother, Chloe! I–” His voice broke, unable to continue. He continued crying, wrapping his arms around Chloe tighter while she rubbed his back in soothing motions. She was burning to know more, but it was not the time. At the moment, she needed to put back together the pieces of her broken boyfriend. </p>
<p>Lucifer cried until it seemed that all the tears his body could produce had been spilled. Chloe remained silent, rocking him gently, tracing soothing circles in his back, trying to comfort him the best she could. When he had calmed down enough, he finally related to her what he had done and what had led to it. </p>
<p>He had to kill his own brother to save her. Oh God! What a cruel choice to make. He had killed for her and they were not even a ‘thing’ back then. It showed her once again the extent of his love for her. And he had not been able to confide in anyone. It made so much sense now why he tried to get himself killed by that sniper. As a detective, she understood that sometimes people had to kill in self defense or to protect another. But she knew it still took a toll on that person be they celestial or human. She had had to do it herself, and it was hard. She couldn’t fathom how painful it must have been to kill his own brother.</p>
<p>They remained silent for a long time, hugging each other in a soothing embrace, until the two huge men came to carry Lucifer to the village for dinner. Lucifer was exhausted by all the emotions of the last hours but he was so hungry that he would have never missed an opportunity to eat. Besides, with what he knew now, his presence was much anticipated and he would never dare disappoint them. He plastered a smile on his face and let the men carry him into the village.</p>
<p>He fell asleep while eating, his unfinished plate still on his lap. Chloe put his plate aside and draped an extra blanket over him. Someone had brought him hot stones a few minutes earlier and it was probably their warmth that put him to sleep. </p>
<p>When he woke up, he seemed a bit sheepish to have fallen asleep while eating. However, the nap allowed him to stay in the village until the night was fully black, and he and Chloe watched his stars come out together. The sound of the small waves lapping on the shore and the music playing in the background by the islanders helped soothe him, soothe them both. The serenity of the place brought them comfort and peace, two things that had been in short supply recently.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The next day, Lucifer thought he might be strong enough to put his prostheses on and try to walk, but before walking, he had to stand up. He tried lifting himself using the chair they used to carry him but the latter tended to tilt backwards and he couldn’t put too much weight on it. The Devil was not one to give up though, and after a few minutes of effort and with a little help from Chloe, he finally stood up.</p>
<p>“Are you sure you want to do this?” Chloe asked, worried. “You already look exhausted.”</p>
<p>“We have to leave this island in four days at the latest if we want to be able to catch the plane at Houk. I must be able to walk before that!”</p>
<p>“Yes, but you must not use up all your energy.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry,” he tried to reassure her. “Walking won’t take away any of my light. It will only help me get stronger.”</p>
<p>Lucifer quickly realized he was not strong enough to walk alone and reluctantly asked for Chloe’s help to walk to the village. Almost dying and losing all his light had taken a toll on him that would take a long time to recover from. He hated to be so weak, but he could do nothing about it. Nainowa’s beverage was helping, he could feel it, but it was only strengthening his body, not his light. </p>
<p>Lucifer leaned heavily on Chloe and they slowly made their way to the village. Lucifer had the impression that his prostheses weighed a ton and Chloe had to support most of his weight but they eventually managed to walk the short trail to the village.</p>
<p>His arrival in the central area caused quite a shock. No one had seen him standing and he was taller than everyone else. Lucifer stood in the middle of the clearing for a moment, looking around. Standing, he could see more of the village and the place was primitively built but lovely. A little paradise, away from the pollution and hustle and bustle of civilization.</p>
<p>He finally sat down on the sand and many islanders apologized that no chair was available for him. They went to his hut to get the one they built for him but Lucifer assured them he was fine for the moment. He was constantly cold and the hot sand from the afternoon sun was very welcome.</p>
<p>Shy at first, many people came closer to ask questions about his ‘legs’. They had never seen prostheses before or anything similar and were fascinated by them. Lucifer patiently answered all their questions, curiously not bothered by them.</p>
<p>Being called disabled by Bruce had profoundly disturbed him, but he was strangely proud to show his prostheses to these people. He couldn’t explain it, except that maybe he felt respected and accepted for who he was. Their fascination was not unhealthy or mean spirited, only curiosity for something new. </p>
<p>When he became too tired, he crawled to the chair the men had brought from the hut and set up a few feet from him and sat in it. Sitting that low with his prostheses was less comfortable though and he finally removed them. He didn’t think he would have the strength to walk back to the hut anyway.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The ninth day they were on the island, Lucifer told Nainowa they wished to leave in two or three days, as soon as he was strong enough. He knew they had to organize the boat trip to Houk and he wanted to give them enough time to make the necessary arrangements. Nainowa seemed sad to hear they were not staying longer, but Lucifer explained Chloe had to go back to work and they had a plane to catch.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow, we will celebrate your time here,” she told him. </p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The celebration was huge. The islanders had prepared some traditional dishes they only prepared for special occasions and the air smelled of fish, grilled meat and spices. Nainowa had learned – maybe from Amina – that Lucifer loved to wear purple and he was dressed with a purple fabric, almost the same hue as his favorite shirt. Everyone – Lucifer and Chloe included – wore flower necklaces, a tradition common to Pacific Islanders. They even put one around Akuma’s neck.</p>
<p>About thirty islanders dressed in colorful long straw skirts participated in a choreographed elaborate dance. In other circumstances, Lucifer might have thought all this was ridiculous, but he surprisingly enjoyed the celebration.</p>
<p>Lucifer had to take a nap between the dance and the dinner but managed to stay awake otherwise. The sun was setting when many women came towards Lucifer, one of them holding what looked like a large blanket folded in front of her. The latter bent in front of Lucifer, handing him what she was holding ceremoniously.</p>
<p>“We made a special gift for you, Morning Star. All the women on the island participated in making it. I hope you will like it.”</p>
<p>Lucifer thanked her and took the gift, curious. He started to unfold it, but the blanket – because it was obvious now that it was a woven blanket – was so large he had to ask for help to see it completely. Chloe grabbed one side, another woman grabbed the other and a third one picked up the middle and held it up for Lucifer’s inspection. He gasped when he saw the pattern that they had made.</p>
<p>The blanket – probably large enough to cover his king size bed – showed their island at sunset, but as beautiful as that was, it was not the most incredible thing about it. The top half of the blanket was a very dark shade of blue and many stars were embroidered on it, creating an incredibly accurate map of the most visible stars in the sky. Even the Milky way was recognizable.</p>
<p>Lucifer looked at the women, tears in his eyes. “You did this… for me?” he whispered, suddenly emotional.</p>
<p>“Of course!” the woman in the middle told him. “From the moment you arrived here, we started working on this, everyone taking turns to finish it on time.”</p>
<p>Lucifer was speechless. He had received many gifts over the millennia, some from kings and queens, some priceless, but nothing came close to this one. It was not only because it was beautiful. It was of course, but the people who did this knew him, knew the job he had to do. But they also knew the position of his stars to an absolute perfection, and even better, had recreated the night sky especially for him.</p>
<p>“Do you like it?” the woman asked nervously.</p>
<p>Lucifer realized he was looking at them mouth agape, without having said a word about it.</p>
<p>“I never received a more beautiful gift,” he finally said, recovering his voice. “What can I do for you, all of you,” he clarified to encompass all the women in the village. “Anything you desire, I will get for you. Just name it.” He insisted, the idea of getting something for nothing foreign to his nature.</p>
<p>“It is a gift for the Morning Star. We ask nothing in return,” the woman said, shaking her head and frowning at his insistence on repaying them.</p>
<p>Lucifer was completely lost. Gifts from the children were one thing. He was used to the Urchin drawing him pictures with no thought for something in return, but adults were a different matter entirely. They always desired something from him, always. He was very confused about why these people seemed to be so different. But then he remembered what the elders had told him and that the people of the village had been waiting for him to arrive for many generations. So, swallowing past the lump in his throat, he managed to say. “I will cherish this forever. Thank you. Words cannot express how much this means to me.”</p>
<p>The tears he was holding fell down anyway, his emotions unable to be contained. He shook his head, ashamed to cry in front of the whole village but despite his best effort, his tears just didn’t want to stop.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” he added sheepishly, wiping the tears from his face, “I’m not used to receiving things made especially for me.” He smiled through his tears, trying to reassure them that everything was fine and that it was one of the happiest days of his life.</p>
<p>The women bowed toward Lucifer but they weren’t finished. A different woman stepped forward and presented a gift to Chloe. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. It was wrapped in a square pocket of fabric that was tied close with a piece of twine. She reached out her hand and took the gift as the woman started talking. Chloe looked at Lucifer for a translation of what the woman was saying.</p>
<p>Lucifer seemed a bit shocked but told Chloe what the villager said while she opened the gift. “She says that they wished to honor the Beloved of the Morning Star,” he said reverently while looking at Chloe. “They are happy that I have apparently found my other half, or something along those lines.” He didn’t want to tell her that what she really said was more closely translated as ‘mate’ but he stayed true to the sentiment.</p>
<p>Chloe looked over at Lucifer and gave him a huge grin as she finally got the package open. Inside was a necklace. The chain was made out of something similar to the twine that held the gift together but the pendant was a beautiful blue oval stone, polished to a high sheen. The stone was the same color as her eyes.</p>
<p>“It’s beautiful,” she intoned in a small voice and turned to Lucifer. “Please tell them thank you for me. Thank you,” she went ahead and told the women herself. She held up the necklace while Lucifer relayed her thanks.</p>
<p>He continued with the translation. "She also says that the stone was found on the beach the day after we arrived on the island in the same place the boat landed. They have never seen a person with eyes the color of the sea and when they saw this," he gestured to the pendant, "it was as if the sea had broken off a piece of itself and placed it there for the people here to find. The sea as well as the stars are sacred to them." Lucifer finished his tale and simply gazed at Chloe adoringly. He always knew she was special but it was gratifying to see that these islanders thought so as well.</p>
<p>Chloe was deeply moved and since she couldn't speak their language, she rose from the sand and hugged all the ladies in appreciation.</p>
<p>Not long afterward, both Chloe and Lucifer returned to their hut.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The next morning, Nainowa came to announce that everything was ready for the trip to Houk and that they could leave when they wanted. Lucifer and Chloe decided that it was better to leave that day. Lucifer was able to walk alone now – even if his gait was still a little wobbly and horribly slow – and waiting a day longer wouldn’t change the level of his energy too much. The earlier they left, the better their chances were that the plane would still be on the runway.</p>
<p>Chloe carefully packed all of Lucifer’s gifts in the large bag Nainowa had given them, making sure her necklace was securely fastened around her neck. Nainowa had also given Lucifer a set of stones that he would be able to heat once at home. For the first time in eleven days, Lucifer dressed in a suit. Chloe helped groom him from head to toe, smiling to see him more like his old self again. He was paler than usual, that was true, but the dark circles under his eyes were gone and only some tiredness around his eyes remained. Nainowa had shaved him again – while Michael was singing – and even with his untamed hair, he looked terribly sexy. Chloe closed the space between them and standing on the tip of her toes, gave him a small kiss.</p>
<p>“You look like a very sexy businessman,” she said, caressing his white strand.</p>
<p>“I am a sexy businessman!” he answered, giving her the best cheeky grin he could manage.</p>
<p>“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes, but laughed just the same.</p>
<p>“I want to see Amina before leaving.”</p>
<p>“Sure. Everything’s packed. We can go together if you want.”</p>
<p>“Of course!” he said and swept his hand in an 'after you' gesture.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Amina was drawing on her iPad when they saw her. She was happy to see them, but sad that they were leaving. </p>
<p>“I will miss you!” she said, “Will I ever see you again?”</p>
<p>“I promised I will come back and tell you when we catch the bad people who abducted you and Orupi. It might take some time though, but don’t worry, we will catch them.”</p>
<p>“I know you will. You always keep your promises.”</p>
<p>“I am a Devil of my word,” he assured her.</p>
<p>While Amina stroked Akuma’s fur, Lucifer and Chloe looked at the drawings Amina wanted to show them. She had taken pictures of different places on the island and was using them as a background, then drawing characters in the pictures. As with the drawings she had done at the penthouse, it was obvious she had a lot of talent.</p>
<p>“This could be turned into a comic book,” Lucifer told her. </p>
<p>“A what?”</p>
<p>Of course she had no idea what a comic book was. </p>
<p>“A comic book is an illustrated book. Like the movies we were watching, but you draw the action and write what the characters say in bubbles. I will bring you one when I’ll come back.”</p>
<p>He showed her on a blank page what the basics of comics were. He remembered how confused she was when she saw her first movie. She had never seen a television and Lucifer had to explain to her how movies were made and appeared on the flat screen.</p>
<p>“A book… using pictures… to tell a story… That’s a good idea!” she said excitedly. “Thank you Lucifer!” she added in English.</p>
<p>Lucifer smiled. Her intonation was so much like the urchin.</p>
<p>“You are welcome,” he said and smiled down on her affectionately.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>All the members of the village were on the beach when Lucifer and Chloe left the island. The islanders were sad to see them leave, but glad that their prophecy had come true and they had been able to help.</p>
<p>Lucifer and Chloe sat in the boat and watched the island slowly recede, until it was impossible to discern the islanders from the trees. This little piece of paradise would always hold a special place in their hearts and Chloe hoped one day they could return to relax and enjoy themselves, perhaps bring Trixie as well. Chloe was sure her little monkey would like to see her friend again.</p>
<p>By the time the island was a mere speck on the horizon, Lucifer was asleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So you know a little more... Thanks for reading and let me know what you think about it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. You are alive and here with me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I will never thank you enough for all your comments! Also a huge thank you to my betas LoveDevilKing and Fox_2005. You are the best!</p>
<p>WARNING: This chapter contains a scene of a sexual nature. Nothing explicit but a short love scene between two consenting adults.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer didn’t see much of their trip back to Houk. Rocked by the movements of the boat and with his general fatigue, he slept almost the whole way. Chloe would have been worried but every now and then, he woke up, starving. The islanders had given them a lot of food that could be preserved despite the heat but by the end of their voyage, almost none of it was left.</p>
<p>They had the same crew as their previous trip since both men were used to making this particular trip often. When they finally reached Houk, they saw that the plane was on the tarmac as promised, but the pilots were nowhere to be seen.</p>
<p>“They must be in the village,” Sesario said. “Especially if they have been waiting here for a few days.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I suppose,” Lucifer answered. “Anyway, I am hungry and I would not say no to an early lunch before boarding.” Clapping his hands he grinned at them all.</p>
<p>Using the quad the men had left in the building near the airfield, they went to the community hall where they had eaten on their previous visit. The islanders recognized them and said that food would be ready soon. Sitting in a corner, the pilots saw them and one of them came closer.</p>
<p>“Mister Morningstar! What a pleasure to see you! I thought we would be taking Ms Decker back alone!”</p>
<p>“Well, I will be accompanying her, as you can see,” Lucifer stated with a small smile. </p>
<p>“Then we will prepare to leave as soon as you are ready.” The pilot returned Lucifer’s smile before turning away.</p>
<p>Chloe looked at Lucifer with wide eyes. She had read the letter but…</p>
<p>“You never planned to return…” she whispered, when the pilot went away, the realization of  the significance of what had happened on the island not hitting her to its full extent until now. He could have died. She would have been alone but he had made arrangements to get her home. That thought took her breath away.</p>
<p>Seeing the tears start to form in her eyes, Lucifer sighed. “I was dying, Chloe. I was not even sure if I would be able to bring Amina home. Dad only knows why I am still here. I had to do what I could, to take care of you. You had to get home.”</p>
<p>She rubbed his arm and leaned into his side. “That's not what's important to me. What's important is that you are alive and here, with me.”</p>
<p>He smiled and nodded, slipping his arm around her back, pulling her closer. “I suppose you are right.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The flight in the Caribou towards Chuuk was calmer than their initial trip. Despite his tiredness, Lucifer was unable to sleep in the uncomfortable and noisy plane. As soon as they entered the airport terminal, many heads turned toward the strange couple. Chloe was carrying the backpack and the bag containing the gifts as well as a few other things while Lucifer was trying to keep up, Akuma on a leash beside him. Lucifer wasn't happy he had to let Chloe carry all their baggage but he was barely able to stand by himself. There was no way he would be able to carry something else and not fall flat on his face. </p>
<p>Chloe found a relatively quiet place by the wall that had an outlet and Lucifer sat on the closest bench to charge his phone. He needed to call his contact to request a private plane back to LA if they didn’t want to be forced to take a commercial flight.</p>
<p>“Tomorrow at nine p.m., a plane will be ready for you, Mr. Morningstar,” he was assured.</p>
<p>Lucifer also rented a room in the hotel near the airport so they could rest more comfortably. They still had more than thirty hours before they could head home but he definitely preferred to wait for a private plane than to fly on a crowded and noisy commercial airline. </p>
<p>The hotel room was small, but clean and comfortable. Lucifer undressed and settled in one of the double beds almost as soon as they got inside. He fell asleep instantly. The fact that he was an amputee served him well for once, otherwise his six foot three frame would never have fit on the bed. With Akuma laying down beside him, there was not much space left in the bed for Chloe. They would sleep close tonight.</p>
<p>While Lucifer was sleeping, Chloe called Dan.</p>
<p>“Chlo! I was so worried! Michael told us Lucifer had been sick! What happened?”</p>
<p>“It’s a long story Dan,” she whispered, looking at her Devil deeply asleep under a mountain of blankets. “You were right, by the way.”</p>
<p>“About what?”</p>
<p>“He was dying, Dan. He thought he would never come back.” She couldn’t stop the sob that escaped from her throat.</p>
<p>“But Michael only said he–”</p>
<p>“I know,” she cut him, taking a steadying breath. “It was the story for the precinct to explain our delay in returning. We will explain everything later, I promise.”</p>
<p>“I knew something was wrong, but I never really thought… is he okay?” he asked worriedly.</p>
<p>“Yes. He’s still very weak but he’ll be alright. Can you stop by the penthouse before picking us at the airport to get his wheelchair?”</p>
<p>“Of course. It’s that bad?”</p>
<p>Chloe had a flash of Lucifer lying motionless in the hut.</p>
<p>“He stopped breathing, Dan! It was so close!” she said a little too loud, and she burst out crying.</p>
<p>“Ev’rything’s fine, D’tective?” Lucifer slurred sleepily.</p>
<p>“I know, Honey. Go back to sleep,” she answered, trying to sound normal.</p>
<p>Lucifer grumbled something and disappeared again under the blankets. Chloe wiped her tears and asked to talk to Trixie, keeping her voice low for the rest of her conversation.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Chloe was sitting in the second bed, reading a tourist brochure, when Lucifer started to thrash and kick in his sleep.</p>
<p>She went to the other bed and began shaking him gently. “Lucifer, wake up! You’re having a nightmare!”</p>
<p>It was the first one in days and Chloe wondered what caused it. Lucifer opened his eyes all of a sudden and pulled on the blankets covering him, looking at his legs.</p>
<p>“You had a nightmare about your feet?” Chloe asked, surprised. It had been a while since he dreamt about that.</p>
<p>“Not really a nightmare,” he answered, frowning. “I dreamt my feet had grown back, but I was mad about it. Like, really pissed off. Said I wanted my stumps back!” He laughed and shook his head. “Dreams can be so strange!”</p>
<p>“Yeah, they can be!”</p>
<p>“I am hungry by the way. Do they have a menu or something for room service?”</p>
<p>“Yes.” She stirred and took the menu from the little nightstand beside her. “Here,” she added, handing it to him.</p>
<p>Waiting for their order to arrive, Lucifer sent Akuma to the bottom of the bed and Chloe sat beside him.</p>
<p>“I cannot believe the branding is almost all gone,” he whispered, brushing his forearm with the tips of his fingers. “I still don’t understand how they were able to do that.”</p>
<p>“You didn’t ask them?”</p>
<p>“Yes, but Nainowa said it was because of special plants that apparently only grow on their island. She didn’t want to tell me what it was, saying it was their secret.”</p>
<p>“Could your sibling have led them to that precise island for that reason?” Chloe asked.</p>
<p>“It is possible. Who knows what Dad had in mind.”</p>
<p>“You could pray to him and ask him,” she suggested.</p>
<p>“Not now. I don’t have the strength to have this kind of conversation at the moment. You have no idea how empty and weak I still feel. Even after I tried to disappear, I was not this weak.”</p>
<p>“You stopped breathing, Honey. I don’t think you could have been any closer to death without actually dying.” She stroked his hair in a comforting gesture.</p>
<p>“It is strange though,” he added after a few moments of silence. “Even if I am the weakest I have ever been, the little amount of light I feel inside me seems more powerful than ever. Like the new light building up is somehow brighter.”</p>
<p>“Is that possible?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know. I have never thought about it and it is hard to compare since I am the only angel filled with light.”</p>
<p>“What do the others have?” she wondered aloud.</p>
<p>“Divine energy, but it is not really light. And Michael is my opposite. What your scientist would call ‘dark matter’.”</p>
<p>“Dark matter is a real thing?”</p>
<p>“Of course! Everything in the universe has its opposite, Detective. Otherwise, it would crumble on itself or be destroyed.”</p>
<p>“But Michael is not a black hole or anything, is he?” She had heard of dark matter but wondered if that was the same thing as a black hole.</p>
<p>Lucifer laughed. “Of course not! Dark matter at its most basic is not a black hole. However, the concentration of it to the extreme may create them. Well, it takes a star dying first but I think that’s a topic too complicated for the moment.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, right. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t understand half of it anyway.” Chloe chuckled in amusement.</p>
<p>Lucifer laughed again, happy to have this simple conversation. Happy to be there, beside Chloe. Happy to be alive. Being an immortal, he never really thought at that simple fact, but being alive was a gift.</p>
<p>The food finally arrived – an order that seemed more for four people than two – and they started eating while talking about anything that came to mind. After dinner, Lucifer wished aloud that he would love to wash himself, but he looked at his prostheses and sighed.</p>
<p>“I don’t mind being an amputee, but right now, just thinking of putting them on seems like too much of an effort.”</p>
<p>Chloe looked around the room and her eyes fell on the rolling chair at the desk.</p>
<p>“I have an idea,” she said, getting up.</p>
<p>She brought the chair beside the bed and helped Lucifer to sit on it.</p>
<p>“The new tendency in wheelchairs,” Lucifer laughed.</p>
<p>When he arrived in the bathroom, he saw himself in the large mirror for the first time since their return trip and acknowledged the white strand Chloe had talked about. He smiled to his reflection, stroking his curls that were a little longer than they used to be.</p>
<p>“I kinda like it,” he said while Chloe was testing the water temperature filling the bath. “It gives me a distinctive look, don't you think so?”</p>
<p>“Absolutely. I think you’re very sexy!”</p>
<p>“Am I now?” he smoozed with a sly smile.</p>
<p>“Well, you were before, of course, but you’re even sexier now.” She came closer to him.</p>
<p>Lucifer turned to face her, a large grin on his face.</p>
<p>“Maybe we can verify if the rest of my body is as sexy as my face,” he said while raising his eyebrow and running his tongue on the inside of his cheek.</p>
<p>“Lucifer! You’re barely strong enough to leave the bed! You can’t think to–“ she clasped his hand.</p>
<p>“Naughty Detective!” Lucifer laughed squeezing her hand for a moment. “I talked about sexy, not sex! A bath is always taken naked as far as I know.”</p>
<p>He removed the blanket draped over his shoulders, letting it drop on the floor, leaving him nude. Chloe rolled her eyes at his antics and helped him to sit on the side of the bathtub. He was already shivering from the cold. The tub was only about half full and Chloe had made it the hottest her skin could stand. She watched him lower himself down but had to cover himself with his arms, trying to keep his upper body warm. Taking a towel from the rack, Chloe covered his shoulders with it.</p>
<p>“You want me to wash your hair.” she asked, looking around to see what shampoo was available.</p>
<p>“No, not this time,” he replied, shivering. “I will wait until we get back to the penthouse. We will have more room there.” Chloe nodded and came back to the tub.</p>
<p>Waiting for the tub to fill the rest of the way – the water pressure was very weak and it would take forever to fill –, she took a soapy washcloth and slowly moved up and down his legs, massaging his stumps in the process. Lucifer closed his eyes, enjoying her massage way too much.</p>
<p>“Do you know I would never let anyone else do that?” he said quietly. “This is ours, and ours alone.”</p>
<p>“Except for your scalp, it was the first place I was able to touch you without triggering a panic attack after you were rescued, remember?”</p>
<p>“Of course, I do. The funniest thing is that before that, the thought of anyone touching my stumps somehow seemed disgusting to me. It is strange how our perception of things can change depending on who does it.”</p>
<p>“I’m glad I’ve been able to help with that.” She ran the washcloth over one leg and knee, pressing down the long muscles of his thigh before moving over to his other leg.</p>
<p>“Maybe that was what my dream was all about. This special moment we share, I would not want to lose it. This feels like so much more than just a massage.”</p>
<p>“Then, relax and just enjoy it.” She continued to wash him, moving to his shoulders and arms. Once those were clean she moved down his chest and torso.</p>
<p>Lucifer smiled and closed his eyes, letting Chloe expert hands run along his body.</p>
<p>“Oh! It looks like I woke up a little someone!” Chloe said with a little laugh, a few minutes later. </p>
<p>“You’re lucky I don’t have the strength to–“ He stuttered when he felt a warm hand wrapped around his ‘little someone’. “Detective!” he gently protested, eyes flying open.</p>
<p>“What?” she hedged coquettishly. “Shut up and just enjoy. You deserve it.”</p>
<p>He did as requested, too tired to argue, and it didn’t take long before waves of pleasure course into his body. Even though he was shivering from cold, heat began radiating from his lower body. Weak as he was, it seemed like the sensations were more intense and he couldn’t avoid the moan that escaped his throat. </p>
<p>He had never reached total bliss so quickly. When Chloe was done, he looked at her, panting. </p>
<p>Chloe merely smiled and kissed his blissed out face.</p>
<p>This little experiment was fun, but Lucifer felt too exhausted to return to the room afterwards.</p>
<p>“Just bring me a pillow. I will take a little nap here,” he said, already half asleep.</p>
<p>“There’s no way I’m letting you sleep in the bathtub! Come on, I’ll help you back to bed.”</p>
<p>Too tired to argue he let her help him climb out of the tub, onto the rolling chair once more and rolling him to the bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>They spent the next day in bed, talking, eating and in Lucifer’s case, sleeping – a lot – until it was time to return to the airport. They took the exact same plane as when they went to Micronesia, with the same pilots.</p>
<p>Leaving on Saturday evening, they arrived in LA also on Saturday evening since the flight time was almost the exact same time difference between the two countries.</p>
<p>Dan was waiting in the airport terminal with an excited Trixie who flew in the arms of her mother as soon as the trio arrived. Lucifer acknowledged his wheelchair and before the girl had time to hug him, he sat in it with a sigh of relief.</p>
<p>“Thank you Daniel. This is more than welcome.”</p>
<p>“It was Chloe’s idea but you’re welcome,” Dan answered. He thought Lucifer would have complained and refused to sit in it, but it seemed that his situation was worse than what Chloe had told him. Or maybe he was just not as fussy as usual about showing any weakness. Lucifer was wrapped in a blanket, shivering, obviously not in his best shape. “You still look better than when you left, to be honest,” Dan added.</p>
<p>“I am better. At least, I am not dying anymore.”</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you didn’t tell anyone about that.”</p>
<p>“In my defence, there was nothing any of you could have done about it. I figured there was no need to sadden you all further.”</p>
<p>Trixie looked between her father and Lucifer, her eyes suddenly wet.</p>
<p>“You were dying?” she asked Lucifer in a little voice.</p>
<p>Lucifer reached out and took Trixie’s hand, drawing her closer and leaning in to speak directly to her. “Not anymore, Urchin. There is no need to worry about it now. It won’t happen again.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure? You don’t seem so well.” She wasn’t going to let him off the hook.</p>
<p>“Totally sure. The problem has been resolved and I will only get better from now on. You know what?” he added, sitting up straighter. “I want a hug and I think you need one too.”</p>
<p>Trixie climbed onto Lucifer’s lap and they hugged each other. It was still weird for Dan to see Lucifer let her daughter hug him like that and for him to hug her back, but Chloe was used to their bouts of affection. Maybe not to this extreme, though, and she wondered if she had missed something.</p>
<p>Trixie finally stood up and acknowledged the white strand in Lucifer’s hair. </p>
<p>“That’s new!” she exclaimed. “Did you dye it?”</p>
<p>“No, it appeared by itself.” There was no need to specify when.</p>
<p>“That’s so cool!”</p>
<p>“You think so?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, It look a little like a feather from your wings.” </p>
<p>Lucifer smiled and took the bag containing the gifts from Chloe. </p>
<p>“Did you find the Dunlops?” Chloe asked Dan as they started making their way out of the airport.</p>
<p>“No luck yet,” Dan answered. “And I don’t want to discourage you, but we might never find them.”</p>
<p>“Do not worry about that,” Lucifer retorted. “As soon as I am strong enough to fly, they will not be able to hide for very long. I will make sure they receive the punishment that they deserve.”</p>
<p>“Lucifer, you know you can’t dispense justice by yourself,” Chloe said, worried of what Lucifer could do.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry Detective. I am not evil, I am the punisher of evil. It is my job, after all.” He gave her a devilish grin.</p>
<p>Chloe smiled while Dan frowned. Not being aware of what happened on the island, that declaration sounded weird.</p>
<p>Lucifer let Dan push him to the parking lot, setting his pride aside for once. All the way to the car, he chatted with Trixie, his tone light and joyful.</p>
<p>Dan closed the front door of the car after having helped Lucifer to sit in the passenger seat. Akuma had jumped into the back seat with Trixie. He joined Chloe at the trunk to put the wheelchair inside.</p>
<p>“What happened to him?” he asked in a barely audible voice. “He seems… changed. I mean, not only because he’s weak but, I don’t know, he doesn’t act like usual and that’s saying something considering it being Lucifer.”</p>
<p>“You’re right. I can’t explain exactly how, but what happened on the island changed him for sure. It was so weird, Dan. You have no idea!”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Once at the penthouse, Lucifer offered Dan a drink. </p>
<p>“I don’t want to impose,” Dan said. “I know you’re tired.”</p>
<p>“I slept some during the flight home,” Lucifer countered, “I don’t think I will be going to work much for the next few days, probably even weeks, so if you want to hear what happened to me, it has to be now.”</p>
<p>Dan pointed his chin towards her daughter. “Maybe it should wait…”</p>
<p>“She has the right to know too, but don’t worry, I will keep it child friendly,” Lucifer answered.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer had lit the fireplace as soon as they entered the penthouse. He placed the stones Nainowa had gifted him right inside the edge of the fire so they could heat up. He would use them later. If he had been cold in Micronesia, he was even more so in LA, the temperature lower here than what they had experienced during their stay on the island. </p>
<p>Chloe brought him a thick comforter and they all settled on the couches with their drinks – whiskey for Lucifer and Dan, wine for Chloe and a soda for Trixie – while Akuma lay at their feet. Wrapped up to his chin, Lucifer started his story with the branding in Hell. If Dan had seen the branding mark in the past, he never knew it was a bonding with the demons and Lucifer would have some more explaining to do but it would have to wait as he was finally getting to the real story. </p>
<p>He described in detail both planes they took and how the first flight in the Caribou was harrowing because of the shaking caused by bad weather. </p>
<p>“It was the worst flight experience I have ever had, and I have had a lot of experience in the matter,” he concluded.</p>
<p>Trixie and Dan laughed at how horrified Lucifer was to have experienced some turbulences.</p>
<p>“Oh, yes, fine. Go ahead and laugh at me! You were not there!” he cried, indignant.</p>
<p>Dan glanced at Chloe who gave him a smile, meaning clearly that Lucifer was exaggerating. Lucifer noticed it and pouted.</p>
<p>“Detective! You are supposed to be on my side!” he complained, but the grin he exhibited afterwards showed he was more teasing than angry.</p>
<p>Before continuing with his story, Lucifer reached into the bag of gifts on the floor next to him and took out the little boat that was on top of it. He carefully unwrapped the fabric around it and showed it to Trixie and Dan.</p>
<p>“We took a boat exactly like this one to go to Amina’s island,” he said. “Eighteen hours of sailing, but I missed the last part apparently.”</p>
<p>Dan thought that Lucifer had bought the boat but when he learned it was a gift – like everything else in the bag – he was more curious to know the rest of the story.</p>
<p>It was Chloe’s turn to relate what happened from the moment she found Lucifer with his wings out on the boat to when he had really woken up a few days later. Chloe’s voice cracked a few times as she told her tale, remembering those moments on the island when she thought she would lose him. She reached out to touch Lucifer constantly while she talked, just to reassure herself that he was indeed still with her. Lucifer would reach out to take her hand when she would get emotional. It helped ground her in the here and now.</p>
<p>She skipped a lot of details, Trixie didn’t need to know that Lucifer had stopped breathing nor about the few painful days that came after. Trixie wasn’t fooled. She had gotten good at reading between the lines over the years. Grown-ups left things out that they thought she couldn’t handle but she was not a baby anymore and she could tell that Lucifer had been more than sick when they were away. The longer her Mom talked, the more Trixie wanted to be close to Lucifer so she got under his comforter and snuggled into his side. Lucifer didn’t mind the contact. </p>
<p>Chloe didn’t say anything about the letter either, considering it too personal. When she got to the part about the prophecy, she let Lucifer continue the story.</p>
<p>“Wait!” Dan exclaimed when he learned how the islanders heard it. “You’re telling me that all this was organized by God?!”</p>
<p>“Not organized Daniel, but seen. My Father sees possible futures and acts in consequence. Different decisions could have led to a different future, but He probably made sure to cover all possibilities He saw in my case. It has been centuries since he meddled directly with humans. You all still have your Free Will.”</p>
<p>“But He makes sure things end up like He wants…”</p>
<p>“Maybe, or maybe not. My Father is not one to explain a lot, but if He had seen my death, He could have acted to prevent it. Rebellious son or not, I am still His son.”</p>
<p>“Well, I guess you’re right,” Dan nodded thoughtfully “If I knew Trixie was about to die, I would certainly do everything possible to prevent it.”</p>
<p>Lucifer remained silent, suddenly lost in his thoughts, thinking once again about Uriel. Chloe noticed that Lucifer was becoming overwhelmed emotionally so she directed the conversation towards another subject.</p>
<p>“Why don’t you show them the blanket?” she asked, rubbing his thigh. </p>
<p>Lucifer nodded and gave her a small smile, grateful to think of something else than his lost brother. He reached into the bag and handed the blanket to Chloe. She had to get up off the couch to spread it out over the chairs so everyone could get a look.</p>
<p>“This is soooo beautiful!” Trixie exclaimed, excited. “Can I have it for my bed?”</p>
<p>“I am sorry, Urchin, but it will go on mine. It is my gift, remember?” He turned towards Chloe. “I hope that is okay with you, Detective.”</p>
<p>“Of course!”</p>
<p>“What else is in the bag?” Trixie asked.</p>
<p>Lucifer removed the necklaces, littles sculptures and wooden bowls left in the bottom of the bag. He was still wearing the first necklace he had received and had no intention of removing it. He also took the drawings and paintings that had been wrapped in the blanket and put them with the rest that he had left on the table. Dan took the pile and started looking at them.</p>
<p>“What will you do of all these?” Dan asked. “Toss them into your fire?” It looked like most of the ‘drawings’ were just random bits of paper.</p>
<p>“Certainly not!” Lucifer looked offended.</p>
<p>“But many of them are just doodles!” He showed one with a few scribbles scattered on the paper.</p>
<p>“Tao is only two!” Lucifer retorted, snatching the drawing out of Dan’s hands. “He was so proud to give it to me! It represents his favorite toy.”</p>
<p>Dan frowned and took another drawing, not any better than the first one. “And this one?”he asked, teasing.</p>
<p>“It is from Maseen, barely three. It is the hut where we stayed and me beside it.” He grabbed the rest of the pile out of Daniel’s hands, afraid the other man would mishandle his gifts.</p>
<p>“Wait!” Trixie said suddenly. “You know the name of each kid who made a drawing?”</p>
<p>“Of everyone who gave me a gift, Urchin,” he explained. “Not just the drawings.”</p>
<p>“How can you remember all that?” Dan asked, skeptical.</p>
<p>Lucifer sighed. “I have a perfect eidetic memory. I could recall everything from the beginning of time if I wanted to.”</p>
<p>“But it’s impossible!”</p>
<p>“For a human, maybe. Not for me.” Lucifer asserted. “I am the Devil, remember?”</p>
<p>Trixie wasn’t a bit surprised. Lucifer always remembered things that her parents forgot and she knew for a fact he kept every drawing she ever gave him. (Maze had shown her the box Lucifer had hidden in a shelf in his upper floor library.)</p>
<p>A different species, Dan recalled. The ‘man’ in front of him was not human. It was dizzying to think about that. It was easy to forget sometimes just who Lucifer really was.</p>
<p>For Chloe, who already knew about his memory, the fact that he could remember everything from the beginning of time was not what surprised her nor even the fact he could understand Satawalese. No, what surprised her was she never knew that Lucifer had asked the name of each child who gave him something. For someone who said he despised children... </p>
<p>They were all looking at Lucifer, eyes wide, for different reasons.</p>
<p>“What?” the latter said, confused at the looks he was getting. “Did I miss something?”</p>
<p>“No Honey.” Chloe said as she kissed him on his cheek. “Don’t worry about it. So, what will you do with all these?” She gestured to all the gifts spread out on the coffee table.</p>
<p>“The sculptures will go in the bookshelves, we can use some of the bowls and for the drawings, I have the perfect box to hold them.”</p>
<p>Lucifer slowly stood up and walked the few steps to go behind the couch to one of his bookcases. He came back holding a lacquered wooden box that he gave to Chloe before sitting back heavily. The box was the perfect size to hold sheets of papers, and about four inches deep. The wood was a dark red-brown with gold cranes and a cherry blossom tree painted on it.</p>
<p>“This is beautiful. Where did you get it?” Chloe asked.</p>
<p>“Mutsuhito gave it to me in 1868, soon after he became emperor.”</p>
<p>“Who was that?” Dan asked, intrigued.</p>
<p>“The Meiji emperor. He was just a teenager at that time. I helped him to set the basis of his era and to thank me, he gave me this box filled with Gyokuro.” He opened the box and smelled it. “There still has a faint smell of it.” Turning to Chloe he said, “We should journey to Japan to get some more one day. It is the best tea on Earth.”</p>
<p>“You drink tea, you, Lucifer Morningstar?” Dan asked, dumbfounded. Just because he had a British accent, Dan knew Lucifer was NOT from England.</p>
<p>“Not often and carefully selected, but yes, I am always up to taste something good.” Lucifer replied with a smirk.</p>
<p>Dan smiled, knowing Lucifer’s answer could have many meanings.</p>
<p>“How is Amina?” Trixie suddenly asked. “She must be so happy to be home!”</p>
<p>“Yes, she is. I wasn’t there <em>per se</em>, but I heard they threw a party for her birthday.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I acknowledged some of it,” Chloe confirmed, “but I didn’t assist. I think they also had a memorial service or something for Orupi.”</p>
<p>“Is she still drawing on the iPad?” Trixie asked.</p>
<p>“Of course! And she has done a painting for me.”</p>
<p>He took back the pile of drawings, taking the last one, made on a thick parchment. As with everything Amina drew or painted, it was stunning. It represented her family, Orupi included, with the sunset as background.</p>
<p>“Wow!” Trixie exclaimed.</p>
<p>They kept talking about Amina for a few minutes and Lucifer finished telling the story of what happened on the island.</p>
<p>“Should I start calling you ‘my lord’ now?” Dan teased him with an eye roll.</p>
<p>“You can laugh, but being vilified for almost my entire existence, you have no idea how it feels to learn that some people do not view me as a monster. And despite what it looks like, they are not lunatics. They just have a different way of seeing things.” He shook his head. “It still feels strange just thinking about that.”</p>
<p>“Knowing you, it’s hard to understand how people could think you were evil in the first place.” Dan said. “You were narcissistic, carefree and followed no rules, but evil? Certainly not.”</p>
<p>“Hey!” Lucifer complained.</p>
<p>“I said <em>were</em>, right? You’ve changed a lot and I’m not sure how all of this still applies to you, but what I know is that you’re a good man, um I mean... angel, or Devil? How am I supposed to–“</p>
<p>“It is all fine,” Lucifer laughed. “Please don’t worry about it. I am probably a little of everything now. Dad said I would always be an angel, my emotions are definitely human and a part of me will always be the Devil, or at least, the ‘punisher of evil’.”</p>
<p>Chloe smiled, listening to the man at her side. Since being rescued from Hell, Lucifer had been having an identity crisis, wondering often who he was. What was left of him. Hearing him talk this way was so good to hear.</p>
<p>“If you don’t mind, I think I will go to bed,” Lucifer added. He stood up, only to sit back down in his wheelchair. “Dan, you can stay as long as you like. Goodnight everyone.”</p>
<p>Lucifer took the gifted blanket and the long pouch to put the stones in it. He went to the fireplace, removed the stones from the fire to slip them in the pouch and went to his bedroom. He struggled slightly to push himself on the ramp over the stairs but before anyone could help him, he was already up the ramp.</p>
<p>Chloe excused herself and went to help Lucifer lay the blanket over the bed. Lucifer insisted on having the stars on his side of the bed. She kissed him goodnight and returned to Trixie and Dan.</p>
<p>“Monkey, it’s time to get ready for bed too.” Lucifer heard before falling asleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks once again for reading. Only 5 chapters left!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Angel winged cracker coming in</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter had been split in two. You have the first part now and the second part will be post over the weekend.</p>
<p>A thousand thanks to my precious and indispensable betas LoveDevilKing and Fox_2005.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer asked for a special therapy session on Sunday morning. </p>
<p>“I am sorry Doctor, I do not want to ruin all of your plans, but I have some things that I need to sort through.”</p>
<p>“That’s fine Lucifer. I’m happy to hear from you. I thought you were leaving only for a week. I must admit I was a little worried yesterday when you didn’t come to your usual session.”</p>
<p>“Wait, what? Michael did not tell you what happened?” he exclaimed, worried.</p>
<p>“I did contact him when I couldn’t reach you, but that was only yesterday after you missed your session and didn’t answer my phone calls. However, he didn’t tell me anything specific. Should he have?” she asked, getting more concerned with each passing minute.</p>
<p>“I was somewhere between Micronesia and here at that time. I am sorry to have worried you, but I thought that Michael would have told you at least.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it. Can you come to my place at ten?”</p>
<p>“Michael did not tell you anything, right?” he asked once more.</p>
<p>“He only said you’ve been sick, that’s all.”</p>
<p>Lucifer sighed. He was going to repeat his story all over again. “I will see you at ten, Doctor.” He hung up the phone and went to prepare for the day.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Nearly an hour later, Linda was on the balcony of the penthouse. Lucifer was facing her, sitting in his wheelchair and once again wrapped up to the chin with a comforter.</p>
<p>“Where would you like to begin?” Linda prompted him when it looked like he didn’t know how to start.</p>
<p>He told her what had happened to him from the moment Lilith activated the branding to their return trip from the island.</p>
<p>“I do not understand the feelings I have had since last week, nor why I cried so much,” Lucifer said, after relating what the villagers had told him about their beliefs. “I just could not stop!”</p>
<p>“For the first time of your life, not only was the term ‘devil’ not associated with evil, but strangers praised you for the hard job you’ve been forced to do. It is perfectly normal to have felt overwhelmed by it.”</p>
<p>“But I was happy about it! Why was I crying? I have heard people talking about tears of joy, but I thought it was foolish.” He looked out over the city, unable to meet Linda’s eye.</p>
<p>“It’s not foolish at all. Any strong emotion, sadness or happiness, can make someone cry. Crying helps people get relief from the emotion, to feel better and in the case of positive tears, to feel even happier.”</p>
<p>“Well, it made me feel weak,” he grumbled.</p>
<p>“Crying is not a sign of weakness, Lucifer. Washington Irving said it best, ‘There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.’”</p>
<p>“Pfft. I did not feel powerful when I was unable to stop.” He went to adjust his cufflinks and realized he wasn’t wearing any.</p>
<p>Linda gave him an indulgent smile. “Lucifer, within a few days you almost died, you were miraculously healed and found out you were considered a divine being by a whole village. Not crying like you did would have been abnormal. Please, stop thinking that it was a sign of weakness. It was not.”</p>
<p>“It was not a miracle,” he huffed. “Well, not technically.”</p>
<p>“It was at least close enough to be considered as one. It’s okay to cry from happiness and I hope you will experience it again.”</p>
<p>Lucifer sighed. As much as he hated to cry – even of joy –, he had loved the warmth he felt at that moment. Even one week later, he still felt a strange sensation when he thought about how the islanders perceived him. A kind of pride very different from the selfish pride he was used to. </p>
<p>“Emotions are still very strange for me,” Lucifer finally said after a few moments of silence. “Angels are not built to feel emotions and we are not equipped to understand them, but I think that was a mistake.’ He stopped, a frown creasing his brow but Linda didn’t say anything, allowing him to make his own revelations. “Yes, emotions can be hard, but life is flat without them. I would accept a million tears if it meant I could feel the warmth of last week. It is similar yet different to what I feel when I look at Chloe. I thought humans were a flawed design with your weaknesses, your mortality and all those emotions, but it may not be as flawed as it first appeared, at least, for the emotions part.” He smiled and added, “And Free Will of course.”</p>
<p>“You may not have been designed with emotions or Free Will, but you are not forbidden from having them, at least as far as I can see. Amenadiel, Michael and you are all capable of having feelings and making your own decisions.”</p>
<p>Lucifer frowned and took a moment to think at what Linda just said. “You are right. I thought it was just because we were on Earth, but Michael was still in the Silver City when he decided to follow me here and Raphael was definitely emotional after my amputations.” He shook his head. “Why was I cast out for asking for Free Will then?”</p>
<p>He looked at Linda with teary eyes. “I spent eons in Hell for that very reason. Why, if we are not forbidden to make our own decisions, did He punish me?” Lucifer cried out in frustration.</p>
<p>“Maybe it was not always like this? Your Father may have changed his mind since then?” Linda tried. “So much could have happened in between. Maybe He saw that Free Will was not such a bad thing for more than human beings?”</p>
<p>“So why did He not tell me? Lift my ban earlier? I might have avoided all this suffering!” He gestured up and down at himself.</p>
<p>“What would you have done if He had? Return to the Silver City?” she suddenly asked, changing the focus of their discussion.</p>
<p>“I–” He stalled and stared at her. “I do not think so. I have never felt at home there. Maybe I would have come to Earth but…” He sat there stunned at a sudden realization and laughed a bitter laugh. “He knew all along what He was doing… On the island, Chloe told me something when I informed her that the prophecy was three thousand years old. She said I would not have been ready to accept what the villagers believed then and I know that she was right. Who knows what I would have done if he had lifted my ban earlier? And I would never have met Chloe.” <em>Chloe might have never existed,</em> he thought.</p>
<p>Linda remained silent, letting Lucifer think on what he just said. Sometimes it wasn’t what the therapist said that helped the client; sometimes silence could be therapeutic as well. </p>
<p>He remained thoughtful, forced to admit that his Father had probably made the best decision possible. Even if that decision had meant Hell for him. Would he exchange the life he had now in order to avoid Hell and everything he suffered? The answer was surprisingly no.</p>
<p>They ended the session talking about his nightmares and the fact that were almost nonexistent  since the branding wasn’t burning anymore. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lucifer, Chloe and Trixie spent the rest of the day relaxing on the couch, watching movies since Lucifer was sleeping most of the time. Chloe and Trixie had missed each other and Lucifer didn’t have the strength to do more than that.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Lucifer watched Chloe get prepared for work on Monday morning and sighed. He wished he could go with her, but if he wanted to gain back his strength as soon as possible, he needed to rest.</p>
<p>“You promise that if an interesting case comes along, you will call me?” he said.</p>
<p>He knew he would have to use the wheelchair, but he didn’t care about that. Everyone at the precinct had already seen him sitting in it.</p>
<p>“Yes, but I would be surprised if they give me a new case today. I have tons of paperworks to do.”</p>
<p>“That part, I am glad to skip it!” he laughed.</p>
<p>“You almost never do paperwork. You can’t complain about it!” she teased, giving him an eye roll for good measure.</p>
<p>“I am a passive helper. That counts!”</p>
<p>She laughed. “What? Messing around and disturbing me?”</p>
<p>“But paperwork is boring!” he complained with a pout.</p>
<p>“And part of my job, unfortunately.” She turned towards Trixie’s room and called out. “Monkey, are you ready? It’s time to go!”</p>
<p>“Yes, mommy!” came a small voice from down the hall.</p>
<p>Trixie appeared a few seconds later, her backpack on one shoulder.</p>
<p>“Have a good day, Lucifer!”</p>
<p>“You too, Urchin.”</p>
<p>Chloe bent to kiss him. “Have a good day, Honey.”</p>
<p>“Have a good day, Detective. I miss you already.”</p>
<p>“Try to rest, okay?” She said, running her hand through his hair. She didn’t want him to know but she couldn’t help but worry about him.</p>
<p>He let out a bitter laugh. “I will, don’t worry. That is the only thing I am able to do at the moment.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“We need to talk,” Chloe said when she returned from work on Tuesday. “I have a proposition for you.”</p>
<p>“Ooo, a proposition?” he slurred, grinning. “Do tell.”</p>
<p>“Lucifer!” she hissed, pointing towards Trixie’s room where the girl just disappeared a few minutes ago.</p>
<p>“Why do you always think I mean sex?” Lucifer laughed.</p>
<p>“You know why,” she grinned back, “but seriously, it’s about your hands.”</p>
<p>“What about them?”</p>
<p>“I may have found a way that you could get rid of the splints.”</p>
<p>“Did you now?” His tone was light, but he seemed suddenly interested.</p>
<p>“It all started yesterday, when the doctor I had to tell the truth about you came to the precinct.”</p>
<p>“What are you talking about? Which doctor?” He sat up straighter. Why was this the first he had heard about some doctor?</p>
<p>“When you just been rescued from Hell, one of the surgeons thought you were an alien and he was threatening to call the FBI, so I had to tell him who you were.”</p>
<p>“And he believed you?” Lucifer replied, dumbfounded.</p>
<p>“I pointed out that he already believed in something not really more implausible than the Devil, so yes, I think so. Anyway, when I saw him today, he asked me about you, how you were doing, especially about your hands since he’s the one who did the surgery on them. He said he might be able to help.”</p>
<p>When the doctor suggested that he might be able to give Lucifer more use of his hands, Chloe asked for specifics about the surgery. It would be in two parts with a recovery period between each session. First they had to stimulate the body to form a sheath. In order to do that, they would have to put an artificial silicone tendon in place and let the sheath form naturally around it. After a period of recovery to let the sheath set, the surgeons would go back and remove the silicone tendon and put in the real graft that was harvested from the patient or donated. With time and physical therapy, Lucifer could regain most if not all of the use of his hands. Afterwards she asked Michael about the surgery to see if he thought it was possible before she would bring it up to Lucifer. She did not want to give him false hope.</p>
<p>“And?” Lucifer asked. “What did he say?”</p>
<p>“I told him about your amputations and that there were not enough tendons left in your legs to do the extensors surgery. He then told me it was not a problem. That tendons could be taken from any donor because of a process they used to prevent rejection. So I talked to Michael and–”</p>
<p>“Wait, wait!” Lucifer cut in. “Did you forget that I am invulnerable all the time now? How–”</p>
<p>“I didn’t forget,” she cut in turns. “Let me finish. So Michael said that if the scalpels and other tools they would need could be made in Heaven, then it might work.”</p>
<p>“But anesthesia will not. I cannot go through surgery awake.” He shuddered at the thought.</p>
<p>“You won’t be awake. Amenadiel will stop time so your Father can come and put you to sleep. Michael and Amenadiel have already agreed to help and they both feel that your Father will help out. Everything has already been set. All you need to do is decide if you want to have the surgery or not. Now would be a perfect time for your recovery since you are basically on bed rest already.”</p>
<p>“How long does the recovery take?” He asked, still thinking about all she had told him so far.</p>
<p>“Well, the surgery will have to be in two parts. It should take three to four months before they can perform the second part of the surgery, but you took only about two months the last time. I’m not sure how long the recovery would be after they do the extensor surgery.”</p>
<p>“The timing would be perfect, indeed, but why… why did you go to all this trouble? I thought you were fine with the splints.”</p>
<p>“I am, but I saw how hard it was for you to depend on splints to simply open your hands. You also said a few weeks ago that you wished you had done the extensor surgery. When I heard it was possible, I thought that we should at least give you the opportunity if you still wanted to do it.”</p>
<p>“Mi would be the donor?” he finally asked after several minutes had gone by. Chloe knew at that point he was probably going to do the surgery.</p>
<p>“Yes. When I talked to him about it, he immediately said he wanted to be the one to donate.”</p>
<p>Lucifer was not surprised by his twin’s decision.</p>
<p>“But if I do it, I won’t be able to stay alone. I won’t be able to do anything until the whole process is done. I know Raphael will be able to help when we get to the extensor part, but she can’t do anything for the sheath part.”</p>
<p>“Michael will come here in the daytime when I'm at work. He’s just helping Ella and his presence is not essential at the precinct. Everyone has already agreed to it.”</p>
<p>“And what if I refuse?”</p>
<p>“Well, things will just stay as they are.” She smiled at him. Leave it to her boyfriend to make things difficult.</p>
<p>“It is tempting.”</p>
<p>“Of course it is. Take your time and think about it,” she said, humoring him. “There’s no hurry. I just wanted you to know that it was possible.”</p>
<p>“Do you think I could talk to this doctor tomorrow? With tools made in Heaven, he could literally kill me if he decided the world should be rid of the Devil.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think he would do that, but yes, I’m sure he would be glad to answer all your questions.”</p>
<p>Lucifer called Michael that evening to make sure he understood what he was getting himself into. The latter told him that not only was it his pleasure to help, but it also meant that they would be able to share their energy every day and that could help him gain his light back faster. </p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The sheath surgery was set for a Monday morning. It was impossible to do it earlier since Raphael and some of her siblings had to make a perfect replica of all the instruments the surgeon had provided them. Besides, Lucifer had some preoperative exams to do. </p>
<p>Lucifer was nervous. Not for the surgery <em>per se</em>. When he met him, the doctor had been surprisingly kind, but so many things could go wrong. He was petting Akuma, probably the last time he would be able to do so for the next two months. If the dog was allowed in the hospital because of his status as a service dog, he still wouldn’t be in the operating room, and Chloe would have to take him to the precinct with her. </p>
<p>“I will go to work for a few hours and be back around noon. Anyway, I can’t do anything while you're in surgery, but I took the whole afternoon and tomorrow off.”</p>
<p>“You are lucky to have a boss so understanding. You just missed a whole week because of me.”</p>
<p>“Well, that week I used my paid time off, but I still have enough in reserve. I haven’t taken many vacations in the last few years. When I asked for the day off and told him what, or should I say, whom it was for, he said yes right away. You have everyone completely under your spell Lucifer Morningstar.”</p>
<p>“It is all about fulfilling desires, Darling,” Lucifer grinned.</p>
<p>Chloe laughed. “You’re incorrigible!”</p>
<p>When the time came to take Lucifer to surgery, Chloe kissed him and left with Akuma.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The moment the anesthetist put the mask on his face and asked him to count, Lucifer prayed to Amenadiel. But things didn't go quite as planned. When Amenadiel arrived, Lucifer was already asleep. Not understanding what was going on, Amenadiel called his Father nevertheless to have an explanation. God put his hand on Lucifer’s forehead and nodded.</p>
<p>“His light is so low that his metabolism is pretty much human right now. That’s why the anesthesia is working. It’s not a bad thing. They will be able to ease his pain after the surgery. He will just take more time to heal.”</p>
<p>“He won’t be happy about that.”</p>
<p>God smiled. “Do not worry about your brother. He is still learning, but he will be just fine.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Chloe was waiting with Akuma in Lucifer’s private room when they brought him back from the recovery room. They settled him in bed, his hands on pillows on either side of him. On each hand, a large rigid splint had been placed under his forearm and hand, from the middle of the forearm to the tips of his fingers. His wrists were slightly bent upward and his fingers were laid flat against the molded splints. Large elastic bandages were wrapped around the whole thing. Only his thumbs were free. The nurse put an additional warm blanket over Lucifer’s chest and legs, tucking the sides around his torso and pulling it up to his chin but she left the perfusion and his hands uncovered.</p>
<p>Lucifer woke up a few minutes after the nurse had left.</p>
<p>“Hey! How are you feeling?” Chloe asked, rising from her chair to come closer to him and stroked his head.</p>
<p>“A little groggy and freezing,” Lucifer answered in a raspy voice. “Thirsty too.”</p>
<p>“Amenadiel told me the anesthesia worked on you,” she told him while she got a cup and filled it with water. Using the bendable straw, she helped him take a drink. He swallowed most of the contents of the cup.</p>
<p>“Yes. Low light apparently,” he finally managed after he finished drinking. The water felt good on his throat but it didn’t help with the cold that seemed to be bone deep.</p>
<p>Chloe noticed he was still shivering despite the additional blanket.</p>
<p>“Do you want another blanket?”</p>
<p>He nodded, but didn’t answer. Chloe found one on the top shelf of the cabinet in front of the bed and put it over the one the nurse had added.</p>
<p>“Can you put Akuma on the bed?” Lucifer asked. “He can lay against my legs or at the end of my stumps. Just make sure he does not get close to my hands.”</p>
<p>“Yes, of course. How’s the pain?”</p>
<p>“My hands are numb, but I feel no pain at the moment.”</p>
<p>“That’s a good thing.” Chloe helped Akuma get settled on the bed.</p>
<p>“Yes. At least painkillers are working.” He smiled. “I am glad it is done. The next two months will be hard, but I will have all eternity to enjoy it.”</p>
<p>Chloe laughed. “That’s one way to look at things!”</p>
<p>The dog settled at the bottom of the bed, his head on his master’s stumps. Lucifer and Chloe talked for a few minutes, but Lucifer was still pretty drowsy and soon fell asleep.</p>
<p>Lucifer spent the afternoon drifting from wakefulness to sleeping, unable to stay focused on any subject for long. Chloe didn’t mind, knowing that it was perfectly normal after a three hours surgery in addition to his general state of weakness.</p>
<p>He was allowed to eat dinner, but dinner was an overstatement. He was allowed only soup, some crackers and a jello.</p>
<p>“It’s tasteless,” Lucifer complained, while Chloe was feeding him the soup. “And I feel like a baby.”</p>
<p>“You knew before the surgery that you wouldn’t be able to eat by yourself doing both hands at the same time.”</p>
<p>"Humph," he grumbled but opened his mouth for another bite. “Actually, it is kind of funny now that I think about it.”</p>
<p>Chloe looked at him, stunned. <em>Kind of funny? Since when did Lucifer find the fact of being helpless funny? </em></p>
<p>“What?” Lucifer said, seeing her reaction. “I have never been a baby and I have never been fed like this before!”</p>
<p>“You were never a baby?” Chloe repeated, incredulous, conveniently not reminding him that she did feed him like this on the island.</p>
<p>“Of course not! Angels are created fully grown. We do not age. Imagine how old I would look!”</p>
<p>Suddenly, his aversion to children – or she should say, his previous aversion – made so much more sense. There were no baby angels and certainly no babies in Hell so it was a new ‘thing’ for him when he settled on Earth.</p>
<p>Chloe took an almost empty spoon and started doing a plane noise.</p>
<p>“Open your mouth, baby Lucifer,” she said in a small voice, mimicking a flying movement with the spoon. “The plane is coming in for a landing!” Lucifer opened his mouth, not because she was asking him to but because he was so surprised and Chloe put the spoon in his mouth.</p>
<p>“What the Hell was that?!” he exclaimed after swallowing.</p>
<p>“That’s the way we give food to children when they don’t want to eat it.” She shrugged her shoulders and scooped up some more soup.</p>
<p>Lucifer couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing. Chloe followed.</p>
<p>“That is ridiculous!” he said when he calmed down enough.</p>
<p>“But it works! Kids love that! They ask for more!” </p>
<p>She took a cracker and made small hopping up and down movements, bringing the cracker slowly to his mouth. “Flap, flap, flap, angel winged cracker coming in, landing permission awaited.”</p>
<p>With a glint in his eyes Lucifer played her game. “Permission granted.”</p>
<p>He opened his mouth and Chloe put the cracker between his lips.</p>
<p>“I cannot believe I am doing this!” he said after eating, still smiling. </p>
<p>“Me neither! Trixie will be so disappointed she missed this.”</p>
<p>“Don't tell her!” he exclaimed, aghast. “She will want to do it to me too! It may be funny once, but not twice!”</p>
<p>“Yes, you’re right. It should stay our little secret. An inside joke just between us.” Feeling better than she had all day, Chloe finished feeding Lucifer his dinner.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Some time after dinner, Lucifer complained that he felt a kind of pressure in his hands. Chloe pressed the help button and a nurse came a few minutes later.</p>
<p>“Let me take a look at them. It’s probably just swelling,” the nurse said.</p>
<p>She unwrapped the bandages on the hand part and slowly lifted the white gauze underneath it. Lucifer gasped when he saw his hands. They looked awful. Multiple stitches lined the back of his hand but it was nothing compared to what the rest of his hand looked like. They were terribly swollen and the skin was all bruised like he had been in a rough fight. In fact, even when he fought with Amenadiel they had never looked this bad. </p>
<p>“Is this normal?” he heard himself ask.</p>
<p>“Yes, perfectly,” the nurse reassured him. “I will wrap them back more loosely and bring you some ice. For the next few days, try to keep them elevated and apply ice often. It will help keep the swelling down.”</p>
<p>Lucifer nodded, too shocked to answer. He never thought that his hands could swell to that point. The flexors surgery was on the inside part of his hand, so less visible, and he had so many other problems at that time that he didn’t pay much attention to what his hands looked like. </p>
<p>“Don’t forget that your light is too low for your celestial metabolism to heal you,” Chloe said when the nurse left. “It will take more time than you’re used too but you will heal, don’t worry.”</p>
<p>“I know. I just did not expect that. I am surprised I feel no pain with what I saw. I know they injected me with something for the surgery that is supposed to last twenty-four hours and I am in no hurry for those effects to stop.”</p>
<p>Afterwards, once Lucifer had fallen asleep, Chloe made herself comfortable on the couch in the room. Lucifer had used his devilish influence to get the hospital staff to agree to let Chloe stay. Chloe had no intention of leaving him anyway, knowing that he would essentially be helpless after surgery but it was nice not to have to have that fight. Akuma remained on the bed, snuggled up to his master.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks once again for reading. I hope you liked this (half) chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Ready for a hunt</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As always, thank you so much for your feedback on the last (half)chapter! Here is the second half of this chapter. I hope you'll like it!</p>
<p>Thanks once again to my lovely betas LoveDevilKing and Fox_2005.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>A demon was holding his hand firmly while another one cut four holes in the palm of his right hand. What kind of new torture were they trying this time? He tried to pull his hand out of their grasp but as usual when they didn’t want him to move, they had dislocated his shoulders. When they filled the wound with salt, he thought his heart would stop.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“No! Please!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You don’t want it to get infected, do you?” the demon holding his hand slurred.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>One by one, they took his fingers and bent them until the tip sunk in a hole. The pain was unbearable. Why didn’t he pass out? They then wrapped his hand with a leather pouch and sewed it tightly in place. When they finished the right, they did the same thing with the left.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh! I forgot to tell you!” the demon added. “When humans were suffering that torture in old times, most of them attempted suicide to stop the pain. I can’t wait to see how you will handle this!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Lucifer! Wake up!”</em>
</p>
<p>Lucifer’s eyes flew open, but it took him some time to remember that he was in a hospital. His heart was racing in his chest and he tried to even out his ragged breath. The months that had followed that new torture had been horrible. There were days where he had hoped to die, his mind unable to focus on anything else but the excruciating pain. His nails had grown slowly inside his hands, tearing everything on their passage. It was only when the nails finally pierced the skin on the back of his hand that the pain became more bearable. Five years. He had spent five years in Hell time with his hands bound before being rescued. He couldn’t help but think that he might still be there if Chloe hadn’t insisted on Amenadiel going to Hell to check on him.</p>
<p>He shivered, trying to chase away the unwanted memories. Chloe stroked his shoulder, but let him recover before speaking.</p>
<p>“It is the pain,” Lucifer finally let out a shaky breath. </p>
<p>“Are you in pain right now?” she asked, searching the bed for the call button to alert the nurses.</p>
<p>“Yes, but it is bearable. The nightmare was not.”</p>
<p>“Hopefully, it will be better in a few days,” she said soothingly.</p>
<p>“I know, but a few days seems so far away when I am having nightmares.”</p>
<p>“You had nightmares all night?” Chloe grew concerned when he mentioned having multiple nightmares. She hadn’t heard him cry out during the night, just that morning.</p>
<p>“Not all night. At least I don’t think so,” Lucifer admitted. “This last one was about my hands.” He looked down at his appendages, glad he couldn't move them and cause more pain.</p>
<p>“It must seem unbareable when you’re still half asleep, reliving the torture.”</p>
<p>“<em>It is</em> unbearable when I’m in the middle of it, believe me!”</p>
<p>“I know, Honey,”she comforted him as best she could, running her hands through his hair the whole time she spoke. “I’m sorry you relive all that, but things will get better when all this is behind you.”</p>
<p>He nodded, but added nothing. Michael arrived soon after. The doctor explained to them some manipulations to do on Lucifer’s hand to avoid adherence while the sheath formed and they both needed to know how to do it.</p>
<p>Michael had about the same reaction as Lucifer when he saw his twin’s hands. Lucifer winced and clenched his teeth while the doctor showed them how to proceed, but said nothing. The exercises would have to be repeated every few hours, the doctors had said. <em>The next few days were NOT going to be fun,</em> Lucifer thought. At least until the swelling and pain faded.</p>
<p>Soon after, Lucifer was ready to leave the hospital. Chloe and Michael managed to dress him in his trousers, shirt and waistcoat but when they went to put on his jacket, Lucifer stopped them.</p>
<p>“Forget the jacket. It’s too tight and the pain too intense with this additional pressure. Just wrap me in the blanket you brought and it’ll be fine,” Lucifer pouted.</p>
<p>“It was you who insisted that I bring a full suit.” Chloe sighed at his fussiness. </p>
<p>“I know, but I was able to dress in this one the last time. The jacket sleeves were larger but not enough apparently.” He always wanted to look his best and a suit without the jacket was just lacking in esthetics. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t possible this time. </p>
<p>“Your hands weren’t as swollen and you didn’t have any pain back then,” Chloe reminded him.</p>
<p>“Yes, true.” Lucifer conceded. “Well, let’s get this over with. I cannot wait to get home, Detective.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Once at the penthouse, they talked for a little while before Lucifer asked if they would help him go to bed. Weak as he was, he didn’t trust himself to walk and he wouldn’t be able to push his wheelchair up the ramp. Maybe when the pain faded – he had his thumbs free after all – but certainly not now. Anyway, he would need help to settle in bed. </p>
<p>Chloe went ahead to get the bed ready, removing the blanket and piling the pillows near the headboard as Michael wheeled him into the bedroom. Once the chair was next to the bed, Michael reached down to remove Lucifer’s prosthetics while Chloe helped him out of his shirt and waistcoat. Michael then lifted him out of the chair and sat him on the bed before removing his trousers. Once he was comfortable and had his hands propped up on the pillows, Chloe pulled the sheet and duvet over him and tucked him in.</p>
<p>Lucifer should have felt bad or angry to be as helpless as he was at the moment but he wasn’t. He had chosen to do the surgery and knew what it implied. He was just glad to have his detective and his twin to help him. They didn’t make him feel like a burden, both seemed  pleased to help. And for the first time of his life, he was pleased to be helped. Not because he was weak or helpless, but because he was loved and cared about.</p>
<p>Michael left soon after Lucifer fell asleep, telling Chloe that he would be back the next morning so she could go to work without leaving Lucifer alone. Trixie being with Dan, it turned out to be a quiet day for Chloe, Lucifer sleeping more often than not. </p>
<p>Chloe soon realized that when Lucifer took the painkillers right before sleeping, he didn’t have nightmares. That only worked during the day when she could make sure he took them every four hours or so. That night he woke up screaming. After she was able to calm him down, she decided to set an alarm to wake him up every four hours in order to spare him from having those horrible recalls. Her idea worked surprisingly well and Lucifer slept peacefully for the rest of the night.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Michael arrived a few minutes before Chloe left for work. Lucifer was sitting in his wheelchair, hands on a pillow, watching Chloe get prepared. He was dressed only in boxers and his silk dressing gown with a blanket draped across his shoulders. He was wearing his prostheses even if he didn’t intend to walk because Chloe wasn’t strong enough to transfer him to his wheelchair alone. It was a lot easier for her to just put his prostheses on and let him – with some help of course – transfer himself. The ensemble was strange though, since Lucifer almost never removed the Louboutins from his prostheses. It was just easier to leave the shoes on the limbs and he always removed them for sleeping anyway. </p>
<p>Once the twins were alone in the penthouse, Michael settled Lucifer on his italian leather couch to watch TV and talk. It was strange for them to be alone, sitting side-by-side like this. The last time it happened was in the Silver City, back when they were younger. Akuma jumped beside Lucifer and put his head on the pillow on his lap, but without touching his hands. </p>
<p>“I’m so glad to have decided to remain here on Earth with you,” Michael said at one point in the conversation. “Not only am I able to help you, but living here with Ella is so much more exciting than my life in the Silver City ever was.”</p>
<p>“It is hard to get excited when everything is planned for you,” Lucifer retorted.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but Father stopped giving us tasks centuries ago so we were often lost as to what to do with our days. He spent all his time in His apartments, not talking to anyone. He started back only after Amenadiel brought you there last year.”</p>
<p>There was no need to specify that was when Lucifer nearly died – because he was trying to – and that it almost killed Michael as well when he shared his energy to try to save him. That was also when Lucifer had to have his feet amputated, the shock he had experienced when he woke up and realized what happened to Lucifer was still too vivid in Michael’s mind.</p>
<p>They both remained silent then, each reliving the memories of that time, until Michael said they needed to do the manipulations on Lucifer’s hands. They looked even worse than the day before, the skin was various shades of black, purple and blue from the wrists to the tips of the fingers. They were still swollen but less than the night before at least.</p>
<p>Lucifer couldn’t suppress a wince when Michael started slowly rubbing the skin over the sutures. The extensors passed just beneath the skin so the sheaths that had to form were likely to stick to it.</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry to make you suffer like this,” Michael said in a sad tone.</p>
<p>“It’s fine, Mi. This is nothing compared to what I have been through and the doctor said the pain should fade some by the weekend.”</p>
<p>“I still hate it. I’m hurting you!”</p>
<p>“I assure you that it looks a lot worse than it is. Do what you have to do to make sure this surgery is a success.” Lucifer urged his brother. He was no stranger to pain but at least this pain had a purpose and should be of short duration.</p>
<p>“Yes, of course.”</p>
<p>When Michael finished both hands, he wrapped them back up and went to the kitchen to get some ice. Lucifer was yawning when he came back.</p>
<p>“Would you like to go to bed now?”</p>
<p>“No, I prefer to wait to take the painkiller. Otherwise I will have some very unpleasant dreams.”</p>
<p>Michael looked at the time. “Your next dose is more than half an hour from now. Will you be able to stay awake that long?”</p>
<p>“If I don’t, please wake me up. I really do not want to have a nightmare.”</p>
<p>Despite the fact Michael tried to entertain his brother, he had to shake him a few times to keep him awake. As soon as Michael had given him the pills, he took Lucifer to bed. He noticed the blanket on the bed. </p>
<p>“Wow! This is awesome! Did you get that on the island?” he asked.</p>
<p>“Yes, It was a gift they made especially for me.” Lucifer informed him.</p>
<p>Michael saw that his twin seemed emotional. He squeezed his shoulder gently, to show him he understood how he felt. Sammy had never been the one to receive gifts very well.</p>
<p>“Do you want to remove your prostheses or just the shoes?” he asked, changing the subject.</p>
<p>“The prostheses. I don’t like to sleep with them. Anyway, I don’t intend to walk today.”</p>
<p>Lucifer rolled his shoulders to bring his wings out. It was the first time he had done it since he folded them inside on the island.</p>
<p>“They are still not glowing,” Michael remarked, a concerned look on his face as he saw Lucifer’s wings. “Not even faintly.”</p>
<p>“It might take a little while. After my Fall, it took months for them to glow again.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t know,” Michael sighed, shaking his head. “There are so many things I don’t know about you.”</p>
<p>“Same for me, but we have two whole months to fix it.” He couldn’t suppress a yawn.</p>
<p>Michael brought out his wings and lay down beside his twin, facing him. Lucifer rolled onto his side but seconds later, he returned onto his back.</p>
<p>“I am sorry Mi, but I cannot stand to have the back of my hand against the mattress.” There was no surprise there since he could barely stand a blanket over them.</p>
<p>“Stay in the position where you’re the most comfortable. I will make sure my wings won’t touch your hands.”</p>
<p>Michael didn’t sleep, just rested. He was glad to be able to share time with his twin, but hated to see him in pain. Hadn’t he suffered enough in his life? He couldn’t help himself but feel somehow responsible for Lucifer's situation. What would have happened if he had stood up to their Father and refused to send him to Hell? Would He had sent them both? Or asked another of their siblings? Many of them would have enjoyed doing it. They never understood that Samael was different from all of them.</p>
<p>Even if he kept calling him Sammy, Michael smiled thinking of how Lucifer suited him better. Wings glowing or not, he was the Lightbringer, not the Venom of God. He watched him sleep peacefully, and wondered how he’d been able to live away from him for so many millenia. Almost an eternity. Not even able to pray to him, all communications impossible through Hell’s barrier.</p>
<p>When Lucifer finally woke up, he was starving. Michael asked him what he wanted to eat and Lucifer said he would like some grilled cheese. Michael frowned.</p>
<p>“Where can I order grilled cheese?” he asked.</p>
<p>“Order?” Lucifer retorted, dumbfounded. “You do not order grilled cheese, you make them!”</p>
<p>“But I don’t know how!”</p>
<p>“You are kidding me!” Lucifer exclaimed. “Don't tell me you don't know how to cook a simple grilled cheese! It is not even complicated!”</p>
<p>“I have never cooked! It’s always Ella who does it!”</p>
<p>“O–kay. Well, lesson number one today. Grilled cheese. I will teach you how to cook.”</p>
<p>Giving him instructions, Lucifer taught his twin. It was the first lesson of many to come. </p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The next day, Lucifer and Chloe were relaxing on the couch after Chloe had an exhausting day at work when Lucifer noticed she was tense. Usually, he would give her a massage, but of course it wasn’t possible now.</p>
<p>“Something bothering you, Detective?” he asked.</p>
<p>“It’s this new case I’m working on. My guts tell me the boyfriend is our killer, but we don’t have any proof against him and he has an alibi.”</p>
<p>“Tell me more.” He might not be able to go to the precinct with her but he could still be her partner.</p>
<p>“His girlfriend was found murdered in her own apartment. No sign of forced entry, so the victim probably knew her attacker. Ella did find some of the boyfriend’s fingerprints in the apartment, but he went there every now and then so it’s perfectly normal. The victim was murdered with one of her own kitchen knives – three stab wounds –, but all fingerprints had been wiped off. The boyfriend was supposedly with a friend, drinking all night, but the friend's testimony feels wrong somehow, even if it’s just because he was too drunk. His neighbors said that there was some kind of party that night, but they couldn’t confirm if the boyfriend was there or not.”</p>
<p>“So the friend could be lying,” Lucifer thought out loud.</p>
<p>“Yes, that’s what I think. The two of them could have made up the whole alibi.”</p>
<p>“Those bastards!” Lucifer snapped, he couldn’t abide liars. “Do you think I could help?”</p>
<p>“Maybe, but I won’t ask you to question a suspect so soon after your surgery.” Chloe hedged. As much as she missed having him by her side, she didn’t want to jeopardize his recovery.</p>
<p>“Why not? I don’t need my hands to ask him what he desires.” The idea of drawing out the hidden truth from their suspect caused a delicious thrill to well from deep within him. A feeling he hadn’t felt in age it seemed.</p>
<p>“But you’re not in a state to–”</p>
<p>“I would not offer to help if I was not able to do it,” he cut her off. For the first time since his surgery, he felt he could be useful if only in a small way. “Please, let me help you.”</p>
<p>After a few moments while Lucifer looked at her with a hopeful expression, she finally said, “Fine. I will talk to Dan and Ella tomorrow morning and see if we can find an excuse to question the guy or his friend once again. I don’t want him to lawyer up and we have nothing to get a warrant for.”</p>
<p>“Okay. Do what you can and let me know. Mi will be able to drive me wherever you need me.” The predatory smile on his face was absolutely chilling.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>The apartment complex where the so-called ‘friend’ lived was shabby. The corridors smelled of urine and mold and Lucifer wrinkled his nose in disgust. He was glad that Michael had stayed in the car, three people were plenty for an interrogation. Dan pushed Lucifer’s wheelchair to apartment 103. They were visiting the friend where they apparently drank all night instead of the boyfriend’s residence, hoping that if the friend had been manipulated in some way, he wouldn’t be able to resist Lucifer's questioning. </p>
<p>After Chloe knocked several times – the music inside was loud – the man finally opened the door. He glanced at the trio and snickered when he noticed Lucifer, sitting in his wheelchair, hands in his lap. Still unable to wear a jacket, Lucifer was wearing only a silver grey shirt and a black waistcoat, but he left the blanket in the car even if he was still frozen to the bone.</p>
<p>“This your secret weapon?” the man laughed, pointing at Lucifer. “A profiler or somethin’? That bullshit won’t work on me, don’t waste your time.” His voice showed clearly that he had been drinking and it was only eleven in the morning. He was wearing a tank top that once may have been white and a pair of light grey jogging pants, not in any better shape than the top.</p>
<p>Lucifer grinned maliciously but said nothing. </p>
<p>“Mr. Morningstar is a consultant for the LAPD,” Chloe said. “We just need to ask you some questions about the little party you had three days ago, Mr. Conway.”</p>
<p>“I party almost everyday,” the man slurred in his pasty voice. “How am I supposed to ‘member that one in particular?”</p>
<p>“Oh, but you will,” Lucifer said in a low tone. “I will make sure you do.”</p>
<p>The man took a step back, suddenly less confident. Chloe took the opportunity to step inside the apartment and Dan followed with Lucifer, closing the door behind them. Conway shook himself and walked to his little kitchen and sat on one of the two chairs at the table. Chloe stood by the table in front of him. </p>
<p>“Have a seat,” Conway swept his hands at the other chair, looking at Chloe. “I see you don’t need one,” he added in a mocking tone, staring at Lucifer.</p>
<p>Even though his rage was boiling inside, Lucifer didn’t reply. He looked disdainfully at the kitchen counter, filled with dirty dishes and beer bottles on every inch available.</p>
<p>“Never fear, we will not be long,” Lucifer said when he finished his examination of the disgusting kitchen.</p>
<p>“Pfft! Ya don’t scare me.” They all saw that Conway’s bravado was a facade, the guy was clearly unsure in front of Lucifer. </p>
<p>Lucifer felt a rush of anger through his veins, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. How dare he?! He would show him how scary he could be. Before Chloe or Dan could react, Lucifer put his elbows on the table and leaned closer to the man in front of him. “Tell me, Robby,” he started, locking eyes with the man, “What do you–”</p>
<p>But before Lucifer could complete his sentence, the man jumped up with a horrified expression on his face, knocking the chair he was sitting on seconds earlier over in the process. Conway took a few steps backwards, stumbling over the fallen chair, until his back bumped into the counter. </p>
<p>“Alright, alright!” he yelled, his hands raised in a defensive position. He looked at Chloe and Dan in turns. “I’ll tell you anything you want but keep that freak away from me!”</p>
<p>Chloe and Dan looked at each other and then at Lucifer, but the latter shrugged his shoulders, not understanding what was going on either.</p>
<p>“Did you?” Chloe asked in a whisper, gesturing toward her face. Did his devil face come back? She didn’t see anything since she had been staring at their suspect.</p>
<p>“No, certainly not. I did nothing.” </p>
<p>“But why–?”</p>
<p>“Later, Chlo,” Dan intervened. “We still have to get his confession.” Dan grabbed the wheelchair handles, rolling Lucifer backwards. He didn’t take him further than the entrance of the kitchen though, not wanting to leave Chloe alone with Conway.</p>
<p>Without Chloe having to press him further, Conway explained how his friend came to him after killing his girlfriend and how they set up the party alibi. The whole time the man was giving his statement, he kept glancing nervously at Lucifer who never took his eyes off the suspect.</p>
<p>By the time he was through confessing, Lucifer had calmed down and now felt more exhausted than angry or upset. He still felt a little of both of course – it was never fun to be treated as someone inferior – but the opinion of a scum like Conway didn’t really matter to him. He still wondered what the man could have seen to suddenly be afraid of him like that. He knew he had the ability to draw out people’s hidden desires and secrets, but it had never happened like that without his Devil face, and the latter hadn’t reappeared, he was sure of that.</p>
<p>While Chloe took the man into custody – he may not be the killer but he still helped one and made a false statement – Dan wheeled Lucifer back to the car so Michael could drive him  to the penthouse. Chloe would have liked to talk to Lucifer about what had happened but it would have to wait until the end of the day. She escorted the suspect to her cruiser and she and Dan returned to the precinct.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>“I have no idea what happened, Detective!” Lucifer tried to justify himself, as they were relaxing on the couch later that evening before dinner. “I checked with Michael and my Devil face is not back. Maybe it was just his own guilt, I really do not know.” </p>
<p>“Hey, I don’t blame you,” Chloe said, playing in his curls. “I think it’s great that he confessed without us having to push him further. It was just strange the way it happened. Seconds earlier, he was almost laughing at you and then suddenly he became so afraid.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I have no idea how to explain it either. I admit I was really angry so maybe when he locked eyes with me he saw...something?” Lucifer questioned.</p>
<p>“But he had no reason to be afraid of you considering he didn’t think you could do anything to him. Anyway, what’s done is done and now, let’s think about more pleasant things,” Chloe said as she leaned over and kissed him soundly on the lips.</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>In the nearly three months before the second surgery – it took Lucifer more time to heal as suspected –, Chloe called Lucifer a few more times for his help, but nothing similar to Conway’s reaction happened again. Lucifer was getting stronger day by day and after the first month, he stopped using the wheelchair when he was wearing his prostheses. His body temperature was also slowly getting back to normal and his wings had started glowing faintly. His friends visited almost every weekend, the way they had when he was recovering from the tortures suffered in Hell. Lucifer felt cared for and loved, something he hadn’t felt often in his life.</p>
<p>Not once did he complain about needing help for everything. One Friday, Amenadiel came to the penthouse so Michael could have his own surgery to take the extra tendons the doctors would need for the final graft. By the end of the weekend, Michael had already healed and was back beside his twin.</p>
<p>Lucifer needed his Father to make him sleep for the second surgery but everything went fine otherwise. As soon as Lucifer came back to the penthouse, Raphael arrived on Earth to help improve the healing. Despite his sister's intervention, Lucifer would have to keep the mold splints on for at least another two weeks to make sure the grafts wouldn’t snap at the first utilization. As with the tensors’ surgery, he would have some exercises to follow even if his recovery would be faster than a human.</p>
<p>“It will probably take many months before your body incorporates Michael’s tendon as yours,” Raphael said. “You should avoid moving or lifting heavy objects – or humans,” she added with a wink – “until it is fully healed. If I were you, I would keep using the active splints I made you for a little while longer. It should help you remember to take it easy.”</p>
<p>“It is fine like that. At least I will be able to do some things by myself,” Lucifer answered. “And in a few months, I will be as good as new.”</p>
<p>“I cannot believe how patient you have learned to be. I never thought it was possible.” Raphael remarked with a kind smile at her younger brother.</p>
<p>“Counting the time in Hell, it has been more than six years since I could use my hands at all or without help. A few more months will not kill me.”</p>
<p>“That is what I am talking about! You now take time to think, to analyze. Before you only acted spontaneously, letting your passion, your rage or whatever you had in mind decide for you. No other angel evolved like you did.”</p>
<p>“No other angel spent eons in Hell,” Lucifer scoffed.</p>
<p>“The eons in Hell had nothing to do with it,” Raphael retorted, passionately. “It was not the demons who made you evolve. It was you who chose to be a better version of yourself. You, who stopped acting like what other people thought you were and started to change. I hate to say it, but maybe everything that happened to you was a good thing in the end.”</p>
<p>“Do not be sorry, Sister. I think the same thing, now, as incredible as that may seem.”</p>
<p>“You should come to Silver City and talk to Father. I think you two have a lot to talk about.”</p>
<p>“I will but not now,” Lucifer said, clearing his throat at the sudden emotions welling up from talking with his sister. “I still have Orupi’s killers to catch. They have disappeared for more than four months now and they must be punished.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I understand. Work first, huh?” Raphael smiled down on her brother once more.</p>
<p>“Yes, but as soon as it is done, I will go. I have a lot I need to ask Him.”</p>
<p>¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬°¬</p>
<p>Once Lucifer’s hands were free of the molded splints, he realized that his fingers were still incredibly stiff and once again, Raphael came to his help. And for the first time since he had been rescued from Hell, he folded and opened his fingers without having to use splints. </p>
<p>He knew he would still need some help for a few things for a little while, like putting the liners for his prostheses on – that required too much strength – and fastening the tiny buttons of his shirts. He was still unable to close his hands fully and he would need a lot of exercise to regain all his mobility, but he was moving them without help.</p>
<p>He looked at Raphael, Chloe and Michael with tears in his eyes, a strange pride at performing this simple act overwhelming him.</p>
<p>“Does it feel good?” Chloe asked with a smile, tears in her own eyes.</p>
<p>“You have no idea. Thanks for setting everything up and proposing it to me.” Turning towards his twin he added, “and thanks Mi for the tendons you gave me. Without your participation, it couldn’t have worked.”</p>
<p>Michael shrugged his shoulders. “Any other sibling could have done it and it was ‘backup tendons’ as the doctors said so there was no harm to me.”</p>
<p>“No. I would never have accepted a graft from any other sibling inside me, even if it’s only tendons. You made this possible.”</p>
<p>Michael put a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. “You know I would do anything for you.”</p>
<p>Lucifer nodded and smiled, looking once again at his hands. Pink zigzag scars were covering all his fingers and straight ones were on the back of his hands. They would fade with time but would never disappear completely, heavenly tools being used, but he didn't care. They were part of his story as Chloe had told him, and he wouldn't change it.</p>
<p>Chloe put his celestial splints back on as Raphael suggested. She knew what Lucifer had been burning to do for weeks. Being strong enough to fly now, there was no reason to wait any longer to start searching for the Dunlops. </p>
<p>Wearing one of his best Armani suits, Lucifer stood, straightened his cufflinks and looked over at his twin with a wide devilish grin. “Ready for a hunt, Mi?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Are you ready for the hunt?</p>
<p>Thank you for reading and please, let me know what you thought of it.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you like the start of this! I don't have a posting schedule planned and it will depends a lot on my betas. 12 chapters are already fully written but only 3 are ready/almost ready to post. For the moment, I should post about once a week. </p><p>I love to receive feedback/comments! It's my motivation for writing (and kudos help, of course!).</p></blockquote></div></div>
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